Court Documents Unveiling 150 Associates of Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein to be Made Public

Sealed court documents will be revealed to the public this week, leaving some squirming in their seats at the start of a new year.

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63% of Ukrainian Capital's Energy Infrastructure Damaged, Destroyed in 2023 - Kiev Authorities

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Serhiy Popko, the head of Kiev City Military Administration, said Sunday that some 63% of the city's energy infrastructure was damaged or destroyed in 2023.

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Kurdistan Worker's Party 'Losing Mobility' After Operations Against It - Turkish Defense Minister

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler stated Sunday that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK, banned in Turkiye as a terrorist organization) is "losing mobility" after "intensive and effective activities" against it.

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President Putin's 2024 New Year's Address

In a tradition that goes back many decades, Russia's president appears on television before the nation and gives a short speech summarizing the troubles and triumphs of the outgoing year, and his hopes and wishes for Russia in the year to come. This year was no different. Check out President Putin's full 2024 New Year's Eve speech.

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West Unhappy About Vucic's Success in Elections - Lavrov

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The West is unwilling to accept the outcome of the elections in Serbia and the amount of public support behind President Aleksandar Vucic, which prompted an attempt to "orchestrate an illegal power grab," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

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Czech Foreign Ministry Should Figure Out How UN Works - Russian Foreign Ministry

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the UN Czech Permanent Representative's refusal to participate in the meeting that the UN Security Council works in accordance with the specific norms of international law, and not in accordance with some other "rules".

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Serbian President Vucic Says His Coalition Wins Repeat Elections

BELGRADE (Sputnik) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday that his Serbia Must Not Stop coalition had won repeat parliamentary and municipal elections.

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2020s Could Be Slowest Population Growth for US Since the Great Depression

If this current growth pace continues through the end of the decade for the US, the 2020s could become the slowest-growing decade in US history.

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Ukraine ‘Thinks Like a Warmonger’ - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow sees no political will for peace either in Kiev or in the West, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told Sputnik.

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Start getting your 2023 taxes sorted with these TurboTax deals at Amazon

SAVE UP TO $44: Amazon has discounts on three TurboTax products right now. TurboTax Premier 2023 is $64.99 — that's over 38% off its original price of $104.99. TurboTax Deluxe 2023 is $44.99, which is almost 36% off its original price of $69.99. TurboTax Home & Business 2023 is $75.99, a discount of almost 37% from its original price of $119.99.

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Credit: Amazon & TurboTax

TurboTax Premier 2023

$64.99 at Amazon (save $40)

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon & TurboTax

TurboTax Deluxe 2023

$44.99 at Amazon (save $25)

Opens in a new window

Credit: Amazon & TurboTax

TurboTax Home & Business 2023

$75.99 at Amazon (save $44)

With the new year just days away, there's no better time to get a head start on your 2023 taxes. If you need reliable tax software, Amazon currently has deals on three TurboTax 2023 products that are worth considering.

TurboTax Premier 2023, ideal for those with investments and rental property income, is now available at Amazon for just $64.99 — $40 off its original cost of $104.99. For those with a simpler tax situation, TurboTax Deluxe 2023 is now $44.99, which is $25 off its original price of $69.99. This version is perfect for maximizing tax deductions and credits. If you're self-employed or own a small business, TurboTax Home & Business 2023 is the option for you, and it's now $75.99 — a $44 discount from its original price of $119.99.

Each TurboTax product has a user-friendly interface and includes step-by-step guidance to ensure accuracy and maximize deductions. The software is updated with the latest tax laws, so you can confidently file your taxes, knowing that you're getting the most out of your return.

So whether you're an independent contractor or like to dabble in the stock market, you can get started on your 2023 taxes with these TurboTax deals at Amazon. Grab TurboTax Premier 2023, TurboTax Deluxe 2023, or TurboTax Home & Business 2023 at a discount as of Dec. 29.

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Israel Wants Victimhood But Chose Vengeance

Victimhood or vengeance: choose one. You can’t have both. Israel is about to learn that.

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Boeing Calls on Airlines to Reinspect 737 Max Jets After Officials Uncover ‘Loose Bolt’ Issue

The troubled 737 MAX jets first caught headlines after two major crashes in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in the death of more than 300 people. A worldwide grounding was later announced as a result.

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Cause du Jour to Yesterday's News: Western Media’s Evolving 2023 Coverage on Ukraine

Media reporting on the conflict in Ukraine is a case study of mainstream journalism’s propaganda function on behalf of Western militarism.

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Colorado GOP Appeals to US Supreme Court to Overturn Trump's Ban From State Ballot

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Colorado Republican Party filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court challenging the decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the state ballot in the upcoming election, a court filing revealed.

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2023 or 2003? US Launches Airstrikes in Iraq as Middle East Tensions Escalate

The United States continues to throw its weight around in the region, although the growing power of anti-Western forces suggests the current balance of power may not remain for long.

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Republicans Probing if Biden Tried to Obstruct Son's Cooperation With Impeachment Inquiry

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US House Republicans are investigating whether President Joe Biden tried to influence or obstruct his son Hunter Biden's cooperation with the House impeachment inquiry, Congressmen James Comer and Jim Jordan stated in a letter to the White House.

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The Trumpian Holiday Spirit

While families across the US were enjoying the holiday, Trump was up to something else.

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US Police Bolster Patrols for Colorado Judges Amid Violent Threats Over Trump Ballot Ruling

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that former US President Donald Trump would not be included on the state’s presidential primary ballot under the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause. The decision directly stems from the January 6 riot that saw Trump supporters breach security checkpoints at the US Capitol.

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How to watch Minnesota vs. Bowling Green football without cable

Wondering how to watch college football this season? Here are your best options:

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Most affordable

Sling TV Orange Plan

$20 for the first month, then $40/month (save $20 )

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BEST FOR SINGLE GAME

FuboTV Pro Plan

7-day free trial, then $54.99 for 1 month (Save $20)

The Minnesota Gophers and Bowling Green football teams are scheduled to meet in the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at Ford Field in Detroit. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT. 

Minnesota enters the matchup 5-7 overall. Most recently, Wisconsin defeated the MN Gophers 28-14 on Nov. 25. Bowling Green comes into the contest 7-5 overall. On Nov. 21, BGSU beat Western Michigan 34-10. Entering Tuesday, the all-time series is tied 2-2 between the Minnesota and BGSU football teams.  

SEE ALSO: How to watch college football without cable

P.J. Fleck is the Minnesota Gophers football head coach. Scot Loeffler is the Bowling Green football head coach. 

Quick Lane Bowl: MN Gophers vs. BGSU football kickoff time and network

The Minnesota Gophers vs. Bowling Green football matchup in the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Dec. 26. ESPN broadcasters for the game are scheduled to be Connor Onion (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst), and Tori Petry (sideline reporter). 

You can catch every college football moment without the restrictions of cable or satellite TV. FuboTV and Sling lead the way in online live-streaming services. They offer a new perspective on how to watch games. 

Best streaming services for the BGSU vs. Minnesota football game

You can opt for a top-tier streaming service to catch Bowling Green vs. Minnesota Gophers football in the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl, a smart strategy for viewers without cable or satellite TV.

Most affordable: Sling TV

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Credit: Sling

Sling Orange Plan

$20 for the first month, then $40/month

Dive into college sports with Sling TV. Its $55/month Orange & Blue package offers 44 channels, encompassing ESPN's coverage of the BGSU vs. Minnesota Gophers football game. Enjoy an introductory offer of $27.50 for the first month. 

If you’re looking exclusively for the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl game, opt for the Orange Plan that has 32 channels and includes ESPN with a first-month fee of $20 and a regular price of $40/month thereafter.

Sling TV’s sports channel offerings include ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNews, ESPNU, Fox, FS1, FS2, NBC, NFL Network, Pac-12 Network and SEC Network.

Best for single game: FuboTV

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Credit: FuboTV

FuboTV Pro Plan

7-day free trial, then $54.99 for 1 month

FuboTV kicks off your streaming experience with a seven-day free trial. Its Pro tier, featuring more than 250 channels including ESPN for the Minnesota Gophers vs. Bowling Green football game, starts at $54.99 in the first month, before the regular rate of $74.99/month takes effect.

FuboTV’s sports channel offerings include ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, Fox, FS1, FS2, Golf Network, Marquee Sports Network, Monumental Sports, NBC, NBCSN, NFL Network, Pac-12 Network, and SEC Network. 

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Swatted On Christmas Day

The dangerous trend known as swatting is when a person or group of people falsely report crimes or emergencies at someone’s residence, hoping to get the target’s house raided by police. In July, the FBI announced that it was developing a national database to prevent the pranks.

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Saudi Arabia Not Interested in Joining US-Led Red Sea Coalition Against Houthis - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Saudi Arabia has no interest in taking part in the new US-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, prioritizing domestic security and economic development instead, The New York Times reported, citing US and Saudi officials.

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Biden Tells Reporters To Cover the Economy 'The Right Way'

The economy has not plunged into a recession as many predicted it would, but voters still aren’t giving the Biden administration high marks on the economy.

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Watch Stunning Video of a Massive Solar Plasma Loop That Dwarfs Earth

Solar prominences are large features of plasma that reach out from the Sun’s surface and extend out towards its outer atmosphere called the corona. They can last for days or months and scientists are still unsure how and why they are formed.

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NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for December 25

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for December 25's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Pet names for a significant other

• Green: Geometry

• Blue: Dynamite

• Purple: Types of secrets

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Featured Video For You

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Connections: How to play and how to win

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Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Darling

• Green: Basic Geometric Objects

• Blue: Oomph

• Purple: Secret___

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for December 20

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to Connections #197 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Darling: BABY, BOO, DEAR, LOVE

• Basic Geometric Objects: LINE, POINT, RAY, SEGMENT

• Oomph: ENERGY, FIRE, JUICE, ZIP

• Secret___: AGENT, CODE, SANTA, SAUCE

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday's Connections.

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Kamala Harris Joins Biden With Historically Low Approval Rating

Dan Quayle, who infamously misspelled “potato” while judging a sixth-grade spelling bee, is the last Vice President to be as unpopular as Harris. The 12-year-old student who was unnecessarily corrected by the then-vice president later told US media that it "showed that the rumors about the vice president are true – that he's an idiot."

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NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for December 24

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for December 24's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Not rough

• Green: Not whole hog

• Blue: Statuesque

• Purple: Things that might/might not help

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Featured Video For You

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Connections: How to play and how to win

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Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Gentle

• Green: Cuts of Pork

• Blue: Statue of Liberty Features

• Purple: Things to Blow on for Wishes / Luck

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for December 20

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to Connections #195 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Gentle: LIGHT, MELLOW, MILD, SOFT

• Cuts of Pork: BELLY, CHOP, HOCK, SHOULDER

• Things to Blow on for Wishes / Luck: CANDLE, DANDELION, DICE, EYELASH

• Statue of Liberty Features: CROWN, ROBE, TABLET, TORCH

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday's Connections.

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Biden Dissuades Netanyahu From Striking Hezbollah in October to Prevent War - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Joe Biden convinced in October Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to carry out a preventive strike against Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing US officials.

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Artificial Rain Used to Fight Air Pollution in Pakistan With Mixed Results

Cloud Seeding was invented in the 1950s and has been used by countries in the Middle East and China to fight pollution and in the United States to combat droughts.

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1 Killed in Florida Mall Shooting, Suspect At-Large

The United States has experienced 645 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

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USAF Combing Two Damaged F-35s To Make 'Franken-Bird'

The F-35 project has been a boondoggle for the US government since its inception. Now estimated to cost $1.7 trillion, it is over budget and behind schedule. There have also been safety issues with its design, software and questions about how it will perform in military missions.

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NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for December 23

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for December 23's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Ways to travel

• Green: To help

• Blue: Just a teaspoon

• Purple: Types of Berries

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Featured Video For You

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Connections: How to play and how to win

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Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Means of Transportation

• Green: Willing to Participate

• Blue: Little Bit, In A Recipe

• Purple: ___Berry

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for December 20

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to Connections #195 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Means of Transportation: BOAT, CAR, PLANE, TRANSPORTATION

• Willing to Participate: DOWN, GAME, IN, ON BOARD

• Little Bit, In A Recipe: DASH, DROP, PINCH, SPLASH

• ___Berry: BLUE, GOOSE, RASP, STRAW

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday's Connections.

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Tape Appears to Show Trump Pressuring Electors in Michigan

Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with alleged election meddling in Georgia, but no case has been brought against him in Michigan.

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Colombia Ventures to Recover Billions from Sunken Galleon San Jose

Colombia announces plans to recover artifacts from the San Jose, a 300-year-old shipwreck dubbed the "holy grail of shipwrecks," believed to contain a cargo worth billions.

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Relations With Russia 'Extremely Important' to Indonesia - Ruling Party Secretary-General

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Hasto Kristiyanto, the secretary-general of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, has told Sputnik that relations with Russia are "extremely important" to Indonesia and that the party wants to promote cooperation with Moscow.

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New Execution Method in Alabama Compared to 'Tying Bag Over Their Head'

The state of Alabama plans to use nitrogen hypoxia as a new method to execute prisoners as the state has had difficulties obtaining the components needed for the drug cocktail mix used in more conventional lethal injection executions.

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Czech Republic Declares Mourning on Saturday Following Deadly Shooting in Prague - Fiala

PRAGUE (Sputnik) - The Czech Republic's authorities have declared Friday, December 23, a day of mourning for the victims of a deadly shooting at Charles University in central Prague, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

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Ex-DOJ Prosecutor Says Colorado Supreme Court's Ruling on Trump 'Very Flawed'

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Colorado Supreme Court's decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the state's 2024 election ballot is very flawed and not expected to hold up in higher courts, ex-US Justice Department prosecutor Ronald Sievert told Sputnik.

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Hamas Demands Ceasefire Before Hostage Exchange - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Palestinian movement Hamas would not discuss the release of hostages until a ceasefire first goes into effect, the report said, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing Egyptian officials.

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Ukrainian Troops Shelled Donetsk People's Republic 25 Times in Past Day

DONETSK (Sputnik) - The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) representative office in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of issues related to Ukraine's war crimes said Ukrainian troops had shelled the DPR territory 25 times over the past day.

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Death Toll in Gansu Earthquake Rises to At Least 127

Rescue efforts following China’s deadliest earthquake in nearly 10 years were hampered by the high altitude and temperatures of the region.

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US House Speaker Calls Colorado Ruling to Bar Trump From 2024 Vote 'Partisan Attack'

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Colorado court’s ruling to bar former President Donald Trump from the state's primary election is a partisan attack.

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Gas Pollution Warning Issued for Reykjavik After Icelandic Volcano Erupts

Icelandic authorities confirmed late Monday that an eruption had been recorded on the Reykjanes Peninsula, triggering officials to launch into evacuation efforts and prepare for possible lava flows. Roughly 4,000 people were evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik last month following weeks of intense earthquakes and tremors.

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Colorado Supreme Court Disqualifies Trump From 2024 Ballot in First-Ever

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) -The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump is disqualified from being on the 2024 Republican primary ballot, court documents revealed.

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Over 70% of Ukrainians Ready to Renounce Citizenship to Avoid Military Service - Poll

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Over 70% of Ukrainian men are ready to renounce their citizenship in order to avoid serving in the Ukrainian armed forces, a poll conducted by the deputy head of the Ukrainian parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Mariana Bezuhla, showed on Monday.

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Death Toll From Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake in Northwestern China Reaches 86 - Reports

BEIJING (Sputnik) - At least 86 people were killed and another 96 were injured in a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu, China Central Television reported on Tuesday.

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Israeli Airstrike on Jabalia Camp in Northern Gaza Claims Lives of 90 People - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - At least 90 people were killed on Sunday as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, Al Arabiya broadcaster reported on Sunday, citing the enclave’s Health Ministry.

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North Korea Commemorates Death of Kim Jong Il With Ballistic Missile Launch

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has ramped up its defensive capabilities in recent years as the United States has sought an expanded presence in the region.

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Failing Upwards: Ukraine Likely Planning New Counteroffensive for 2024 - Expert

The news comes after the broad defeat of Kiev’s much-hyped 2023 counteroffensive which began in June of this year.

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Europe Needs 5-8 Years to Compensate Kiev for Missing Assistance From US - German Defense Minister

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Europe is preparing for the fact that it will have to compensate Kiev for the missing assistance from the United States, and under this scenario, it has five to eight years to restore its defense capability, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday.

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Internal Opposition to Netanyahu Explodes After IDF Killing of Israeli Captives

More than 18,700 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as the United States has twice vetoed ceasefire resolutions at the United Nations.

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NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for December 16

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for December 16's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Agriculture devices

• Green: Planning a heist

• Blue: To bring joy

• Purple: Loud noises

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Featured Video For You

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Connections: How to play and how to win

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Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Farm Tools

• Green: Scheme

• Blue: Make Happy

• Purple: Onomatopoeia

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for December 15

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to Connections #188 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Farm Tools: HOE, PLOW, RAKE, SICKLE

• Scheme: PLOT, PLOY, RUSE, TRICK

• Make Happy: AMUSE, DELIGHT, PLEASE, TICKLE

• Onomatopoeia: BANG, PLOP, SPLASH, THUD

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday's Connections.

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US F-35 Still Underperforms Rival Jets as Taxpayer Bill Hits $1.7 Trillion - Experts

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The F-35 fighter jet continues to lag Chinese and Russian counterparts in terms of effectiveness despite costs soaring to exorbitant levels, forcing the US to seek more war to justify the investment, experts told Sputnik.

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Solar Flare Creates Radio Chaos: NASA Telescope Detects Record-Breaking Eruption

As the sun approaches the peak of its roughly 11-year solar cycle, with maximum sunspot activity projected for 2025, this latest event serves as a reminder of the dynamic and sometimes disruptive nature of our star.

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Big Trouble in Little Delaware

The US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to formally open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. The inquiry centers around Biden’s son, Hunter, and his foreign business deals.

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How to use Instagram's AI Backdrop

Instagram just dropped yet another new feature.

Backdrop is an AI-powered tool that allows users to edit the backgrounds of their Instagram Stories. The feature is only available in the U.S. for now, but users can use prompts to create different backgrounds on their Instagram stories. Think of it how you use most other AI-powered photo tools like Midjourney. Ahmad Al-Dahle, who leads AI at Instagram, posted on Threads on Wednesday that users can search for something like "chased by dinosaurs" or "surrounded by puppies" and their photo will, then, show them being chased by dinosaurs or surrounded by puppies.

It works just about as well as you'd think, which is not great but it's still kind of fun.

Total Time

• 5 min

What You Need

• Instagram App

Step 1: Take your photo

To use the feature, start by taking a photo. You'll want the subject matter — in this case, my face — to not take up the whole entire screen so there's some space for the AI to work with.

Credit: Screenshot / Instagram

Step 2: Get AI involved

Click the AI button on the top of the screen. It's the first option in the list of five. AI will then load with its signature little sparkle grid before outlining the subject of your photo (me) and making sure you're happy with it.

Credit: Instagram screenshot

Step 3: Type in what you'd like to add

I chose "in the Wild West," but you really can pick anything. Now Instagram's AI will, once again, give you some sparkles while you wait.

Credit: Instagram screenshot

Step 4: Choose your fighter

Finally, you'll get two options for your final choice. Pick which one you like best, and add it to your story. Instagram even generates a prompt for you to let your followers join in on the fun.

Credit: Instagram screenshot

"And once you’ve posted, a 'Try it' sticker will appear when you share the image created, making it even easier for your friends to use backdrop for the first time," Al-Dahle posted on Threads.

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Post-War Gaza May Be Overseen by Ex-Palestinian Authority Security Forces - US Official

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Gaza residents who previously served in the Palestinian Authority security forces could potentially form the initial governing body of the enclave after the Israeli military campaign ends, a senior US administration official told reporters.

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US Senate Passes $886Bln Defense Bill, Sends to House for Consideration

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Senate passed a reconciled version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will now go to the House of Representatives for consideration.

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FCC Commissioner: Biden 'Gave Federal Agencies Green Light' to Target Elon Musk

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Tuesday that it denied the Elon Musk-owned Starlink’s appeal and will not award the company a $866 million subsidy from the Universal Service Fund meant to expand broadband access to rural areas.

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New Problems Add $44Bln to Soaring F-35 Costs - US Government Watchdog

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Costs of the US armed forces' Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter continue to soar out of control by at least $44 billion with new delays still emerging and no resolution in sight, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) documented in a new report and top officials overseeing the program confirmed to Congress.

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Guarding your PC: Important cybersecurity precautions for the holiday shopping period

The silly season is finally here! While the holidays are a great time to catch up with family and friends, relax, and enjoy the beautiful weather. Unfortunately this time of year is also when cyber criminals get up to the most mischief, so you better make sure you’re not being silly with your cybersecurity.

The holiday season contains some of the biggest shopping dates of the year. Black Friday Sales, Boxing Day Sales, there are some massive deals to be found for the avid shopaholic, but also some ghastly scams. With so much online commercial activity going on, the holiday season is a prime period for bad actors to penetrate your network and steal important information.

If you’re looking to do any of your holiday shopping online this year, an effective security suite is a must for keeping your devices protected, and is full of tools and automated scans to help you avoid heartache while shopping. Saying this, we recommend Bitdefender Total Security as top antivirus pick for most users. Holistic security suites such as Bitdefender are handy as they offer protection for a number of devices (up to 10 devices for Bitdefender), and also offer Safe Online Banking tools and included VPNs (more on those later).

With all of that said, it is also crucial to do your own due diligence and use common sense before sharing financial information anywhere (both online, and at retail stores). If you’re lost, and you don’t know where to start, we’ve put together the following essential tips to ensure you, your devices, and your loved ones are protected during the busiest shopping period of the year.

Use familiar websites

If you’re shopping online, the first thing you’ll want to do is start at a trusted site. Search results can be rigged to lead you astray, especially when you drift past the first few pages of links. If you know the site, chances are it's less likely to be a rip-off. We all know Amazon carries everything under the sun; likewise, just about every major retail outlet has an online store, from Myer to The Good Guys and JB-HiFi. Most popular browsers will display a small lock icon in the URL bar to identify a secure website, so be sure to look out for that. Also beware of misspellings or sites using a different top-level domain (.net instead of .com.au, for example)—those are the oldest tricks in the book, and are likely phishing scams, designed to fool you trusting them by dressing up as a website or service you trust. Yes, sales on these sites might look enticing, but that's how they trick you into giving up your info.

Don’t overshare online

Speaking of personal information, be wary when online stores ask for more than they need. If a site’s checkout form includes data fields that aren’t in any way necessary for the transaction, that’s a sign you may want to reconsider the purchase. If those fields are marked as required, that’s worse. But if you are desperate to go ahead, just lie! Fill the irrelevant required fields with made-up data.

Avoid public WiFi

With most everyday computing happening on mobile devices, laptops or tablets, you can shop electronically no matter where you are. However, if you’re connecting to public Wi-Fi to do so, you’re better off staying at home to shop. If you use public WiFi like in a cafe or shopping centre, there’s a chance your transaction could be being watched by prying eyes. Even if you think you’ve connected to a known, safe WiFi network, nothing prevents a scammer from setting up a portable WiFi hotspot with an SSID that’s the same as that of your favourite coffee shop. Sometimes circumstances may require that you do your shopping while out and about. You can improve your security by turning off WiFi and just using cellular data (4G/5G) while shopping.

Use a VPN

Even if you’re shopping on a familiar website, from your home computer, there is still valuable information that can be scraped from your online interactions. Your IP Address is often visible to anyone who knows where to look. This can provide cyber criminals with not only your exact location, but often all the other devices that are connected to your network at any given time. To avoid this, the simplest solution is to install a VPN (or Virtual Private Network). This will encrypt your communications and prevent any possibility of snooping. It’s also just a great habit to get into, as a good VPN (Bitdefender Premium VPN being a good example of this) will provide protection without slowing down your network speeds too much.

Be password smart

Some shopping sites let you check out as a guest, just giving the one-time information needed for your transaction. Others require you to create a login identity complete with password and username (or you may choose to on sites that you buy from regularly). Remembering passwords is tough, so you may be tempted to just recycle the same password over and over. Don’t! Hackers know that many people indulge in password recycling, so when they gain access to credentials from one retailer, they quickly try the credentials at other, similar sites. If you don’t want to remember multiple passwords, the best solution to create strong, secure ones is to use a password manager, which are available standalone but are often included in security suites such as the aforementioned Bitdefender Total Security.

Watch your back

Another benefit to shopping from home: nobody potentially looking over your shoulder. When you whip out your credit card and start typing the number into a website, nearby snoops have an opportunity to see and memorise the number. You can foil shoulder-surfers by staying alert, sitting with your back to the wall, and keeping your screen shielded. Better yet, use your password manager to fill in saved credit card data, while the card itself stays safe in your wallet.

Check your bank statements regularly

Don't wait for your bill to come at the end of the month. Go online regularly during the holiday season and look at electronic statements for your credit card, debit card, and checking accounts. Look for any fraudulent charges, even originating from payment sites like PayPal and Venmo. (After all, there's more than one way to get your money.) Always keep track of your purchases online, and you will know straight away if something is awry.

Stay informed/educated

Once you have yourself and your devices fully kitted out with a proper antivirus or total security suite, you can’t just rest on your laurels. Online threats are becoming more and more sophisticated every year, and you need to ensure you’re up to date with all the latest threats, as well as tips and tricks from cybersecurity professionals. On top of their security services, Bitdefender also has a security blog that is consistently updated as the industry shifts and threats evolve. Get real-time updates about malware outbreaks and scams on the Bitdefender Blog.

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For more information on how you can protect your PC with Bitdefender, visit the website here.

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Blue Origin Unveils Plans for Uncrewed Test Flight After Yearlong Hiatus

Blue Origin, the space exploration company founded by Jeff Bezos, is gearing up for a significant milestone. After more than a year of meticulous investigations and redesigns prompted by an engine failure in September 2022, Blue Origin is set to resume its ventures into the cosmos.

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Report: UK Secretly Sent 500 Troops to Cyprus Base Supplying Weapons to Israel

Cyprus is an island that sits in the East Mediterranean Sea, about 230 miles from the Gaza Strip. Not unlike Palestine, its territory is disputed by two peoples, the Turkish Cypriots in the north and the Greek Cypriots to the south, where UK and US troops are stationed.

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The 27 best Christmas movies on Hulu

Christmas movies are about shameless joy, uninhibited sweetness, and guaranteed happy endings. We don’t always have to be challenged. We don’t always have to learn more about the human condition. Sometimes we just want to be happy, and this list of yuletide films, from the classics to the unconventional, are sure to spark that cozy feeling of twinkling lights and sugar plum dreams in your tired, old candy cane bones.

The best part? They're all streaming on Hulu, so you can watch 'em ASAP, from the comfort of your very own Grinch cave, er, couch.

1. Elf (2003)

Will Ferrell in "Elf." Credit: Alan Markfield / New Line Prods / Kobal / Shutterstock

Will Ferrell’s Buddy will stand for no man sitting upon a throne of lies and pretending to be his beloved Santa, and he will launch into a full-on brawl in front of children to prove it. Ferrell playing a full-grown adult man who’s spent his life believing he was an actual elf in the North Pole in Jon Favreau’s Elf is, undoubtedly, peak Christmas comedy. When Buddy finally learns he’s a human who was an orphan, he sets out to find his real father in New York City — and it turns out he's a workaholic publishing exec played by James Caan. There’s epic snowball fights, a romance with Zooey Deschanel, and every kid’s dream: spaghetti candy breakfast. With any other actor in the lead, Elf could have easily been an obnoxious, forgettable family comedy, but it’s Ferrell’s goofball antics and total commitment to the bit that make the film funny as heck, even 20 years later. — Oliver Whitney, Freelance Contributor

How to watch: Elf is streaming on Hulu.

2. Die Hard (1988)

Forget fresh baked cookies and decorating the tree. The one true way to tap into the Christmas spirit each year is watching Bruce Willis climb elevator shafts and run barefoot through broken glass. 

It’s December 24, 1988, and NYPD detective John McClane (Willis) has just arrived at the Nakatomi Corporation Christmas party to reconnect with his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) — ya know, to come out to the coast and have a few laughs. Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately for our viewing pleasure) Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber has decided to crash the party with his long-haired German henchmen to steal some bearer bonds. “It’s Christmas, Theo,” Hans tells his safecracker. “A time for miracles!” Too bad for him this Christmas miracle arrives in a bloody tank top and sporting a cranky disposition; McClane won’t let these thieves get away easily. — OW

How to watch: Die Hard is streaming on Hulu Live TV.

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) & (2000)  

Have yourself a Grinch double feature this holiday with the original animated TV special and the Jim Carrey-led film. There’s something undeniably comforting about watching Chuck Jones's classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! as the angry green creature meticulously steals gifts, scoops up each and every lightbulb, and attempts to deprive Whoville of all joy. In the Ron Howard-directed live-action film, Dr. Seuss's quaint animated world comes to life with fantastical sets, wacky hairdos, and tons of elaborate prosthetic makeup. It’s hard to imagine a more fun version of the Grinch than what we get with Carrey, who brings his signature mania to the character. Somehow, he’s just as delightfully bonkers to watch now as he was 23 years ago. And of course, we mustn’t forget Christine Baranski’s Whoville icon, Martha May Whovier — easily the best Christmas movie character cinema has ever seen. — OW

How to watch: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) & (2000) are streaming on Hulu Live TV.

4. The Preacher’s Wife (1996)

Credit: Touchstone / Kobal / Shutterstock

In Penny Marshall’s The Preacher’s Wife, Courtney B. Vance’s Reverend Henry Biggs is having a rough time. He’s spread himself so thin helping out his parishioner community, struggling with dwindling membership, and battling a real estate mogul trying to buy up his church that he’s hardly present for his family. It’s almost Christmas and he can’t make time for his wife, a singer named Julia (Whitney Houston), or take his son shopping. He prays for help, and suddenly, God delivers the greatest gift of all: a wide-eyed, buoyant angel in the form of Denzel Washington. Washington’s Dudley tries his hardest to provide guidance to the stubborn reverend, but he soon finds himself also growing quite fond of Julia, because you simply can’t put Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston in a movie together and not have romantic chemistry.

The Preacher’s Wife is a touching Christmas story that celebrates the importance of family over all else, but the real standouts are, of course, every time we get to hear Houston sing, and a delightful series of moments where a goofy Washington loses his mind when eating New York pizza and halal. — OW

How to watch: The Preacher’s Wife is streaming on Hulu Live TV.

5. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

There have been dozens of iterations of Charles Dickens's timeless A Christmas Carol, but none are as unique and utterly enjoyable as the Muppet version. Honestly, you could put the Muppets in a remake of any story and it would be a thrill to watch, but here the charm and silliness of Jim Henson’s characters are a perfect fit for the story of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Michael Caine plays the grouchy old Christmas-hater in this version, and Kermit is his good-hearted employee Bob Cratchit. The humble Bob just wants to take the holiday off to be with his family, which includes Miss Piggy as Mrs. Cratchit (of course!) and precious Robin the Frog as Tiny Tim. The cantankerous Statler and Waldorf are Scrooge’s dead business partners who sing about their days evicting orphans, while Rizzo and Gonzo provide comic relief as narrators. It’s the ideal Christmas comfort movie that you could never tire of rewatching. — OW

How to watch: The Muppet Christmas Carol is streaming on Hulu.

6. Home Alone (1990) & Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) 

Macaulay Culkin inspired an entire generation of ‘90s kids to think up innovative ways to turn their homes into massive booby traps, and to ask for a Talkboy for Christmas. When Kevin McCallister (Culkin) wakes up one morning in this quintessential holiday comedy, he soon realizes his entire family has left for their Paris Christmas trip without him — a dream, honestly, for any kid sick of their parents and desperate to waltz around the house solo. But Christmas Eve turns into all-out warfare when Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern’s Wet Bandits decide to burglarize the McCallister home, coming face-to-face with Kevin’s sneaky traps utilizing everything from a blow torch to icy stairs and a tarantula.

Follow up Home Alone with its equally iconic sequel, Lost in New York, for more shenanigans, Tim Curry’s Plaza Hotel concierge, and Catherine O’Hara’s famous “Kevin!” scream. Merry Christmas, you filthy animals. — OW

How to watch: Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York are streaming on Hulu with a Starz add-on.

7. Tangerine (2015) 

It’s Christmas eve in a Hollywood donut shop and Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) has just gotten out of jail, unfortunately a normal occurrence for trans sex workers like her. Now her best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor) is telling Sin-Dee that her boyfriend and pimp Chester (James Ransone) has been cheating on her the whole time, and with a cis woman. She sets out on a mission to track him and his other girlfriend down. 

SEE ALSO: 67 essential LGBTQ films to stream this Pride Month

Sean Baker’s ultra-low budget Tangerine, which he famously shot entirely on iPhones, captures a gritty reality that’s rarely seen in traditional holiday movies, which usually center well-off families with stable incomes and cozy romances. Here, Sin-Dee’s family is Alexandra and other trans sisters along the stroll, and the men they interact with are sneaking away from their wives and children at home for sex. But don’t mistake Tangerine for a gloomy downer. Baker’s film is bursting with comedy, energy, and heart, all thanks to Rodriguez and Taylor’s radiant performances. Ultimately, Tangerine is a moving story about surviving with chosen family, something queer and trans audiences could surely use more of. — OW

How to watch: Tangerine is streaming on Hulu with a Showtime add-on.

8. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Credit: THA / Shutterstock

The third installment in the National Lampoon’s Vacation series opens with the only Griswold family vacation in the film: a trip to a forest where Clark (Chevy Chase) gleefully drags his family out into the snow to cut down their own Christmas tree. From there, many classic Griswold hijinks ensue as Clark goes out of his way to plan the most over-the-top Christmas of all time. That includes decking out his roof in hundreds of string lights to the point of knocking out the entire city’s power grid, the unexpected arrival of his wife’s cousin and her cigar-smoking husband (Randy Quaid), an indoor squirrel attack, a cat wrapped inside a gift box, a very pissed-off Julia Louis-Dreyfus as his snooty neighbor, a SWAT team storming the house, and so much more. It’s total Christmas chaos, Griswold style. — OW

How to watch: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is streaming on Hulu.

9. Moonstruck (1987) 

Credit: MGM / Kobal / Shutterstock

Few movies capture the magical atmosphere of Christmas in New York City like Moonstruck does. Sure, the beloved 1987 rom-com isn’t about the holiday itself, but that hardly matters since it gives us a love story set amid the twinkling string lights, decorated Christmas trees, and cold December streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan. We even get a trip to Lincoln Center, all dressed up for the holiday season.

Cher stars as Loretta, a superstitious widow whose boyfriend Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello) has finally popped the big question, but he soon runs off to Sicily to be with his dying mother. In the meantime, she’s promised Johnny she’d pay his estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage) a visit and invite him to the wedding. At Ronny's bakery, Loretta discovers her fiancee's little brother is a tempestuous young man with a big chip on his shoulder and a wooden hand — and neither of them can simply "snap out of it!" More drama ensues with Loretta’s own family, building up to a big confrontation, and honestly, what’s more Christmas-themed than that? — OW

How to watch: Moonstruck is streaming on Hulu with a Showtime add-on.

10. Spencer (2021) 

If you dread spending the holidays with your in-laws, Spencer is here to give you some modicum of relief — at least you're not Princess Diana, forced to make merry with the Royal Family just as your turbulent marriage has begun to disintegrate! Pablo Larraín’s Spencer offers a fantastical and haunting look into the mind of Diana over the course of three days during the holiday season in 1991.

It all starts off on a sour note when Diana (played exquisitely by Kristen Stewart in her best performance yet) arrives late to the Queen’s estate on Christmas Eve day after getting lost. From there, her mental health splinters as anxiety and depression take over. Prince Charles (Jack Farthing), who Diana knows is having an affair (the affair with Camilla Parker Bowles), is cruel and harsh towards her, her only companion among the staff (Sally Hawkins) is sent away, and Diana begins having ghostly visions of Anne Boleyn throughout the estate. It’s an eerie gothic Christmas tale with loads of excellent Kristen Stewart brooding and all the jaw-dropping hats and '90s suits you could dream of. — OW

How to watch: Spencer is streaming on Hulu.

11. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) 

Credit: Touchstone / Kobal / Shutterstock

Tim Burton and director Henry Selick’s stop-motion masterwork isn’t a Halloween or a Christmas movie: It’s a spectacular fusion of both in the best of ways. The Nightmare Before Christmas is the perfect film for those who prefer their yuletide delights to come with a side dish of spookiness — and songs. Sick of movies where kids greedily open presents? Great, please enjoy a giant black and orange snake gobbling up gifts whole, along with the entire dang Christmas tree. Family comedies where a jolly old Santa rides his magical sleigh — yawn! How about one where Santa gets kidnapped and a kid gets a shrunken head for a gift? That’s exactly what happens when Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, loses his, well, joie de mort. Wandering sadly through the woods, Jack stumbles into a series of parallel worlds, each dedicated to a different holiday. When he lands in Christmas Town, his bony little mind is blown, and he dedicates himself to learning everything he can about this warm and magical place, and its strange leader named Sandy Claws. There's mischief and romance, a mad scientist and a singing boogeyman, not to mention a voice cast that includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, and the late, great Paul Reubens.

Brilliant in everything from its stunning animation and clever story to its detailed world-building and endlessly catchy music, there’s nothing quite like the haunting magic and whimsy of The Nightmare Before Christmas. — OW

How to watch: The Nightmare Before Christmas is streaming on Hulu Live TV.

12. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) 

In It’s A Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey is the type of man who always puts his community first, even using his honeymoon savings to keep his father’s local bank afloat so residents can finance their homes. But on Christmas Eve, the menacing board member Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) intends to shut the bank down. When the money to keep it running gets misplaced at the last minute, a completely devastated George steps onto a bridge and prepares to jump. But suddenly, an angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) appears to show George what his beloved town would be like had he never been born, and it’s not a jolly picture.

Frank Capra’s holiday staple may be a saccharine Christmas tale, but it tells a bigger story beyond its holiday framing. It’s not only about the importance of gratitude and family during the Christmas season, but more broadly, it’s a story about the power of community and everyday people supporting one another across shared struggles. It’s a reminder of the significant impact every person has on those around them, and while that may be cheesy, it’s a poignant and forever-relevant thing to be reminded of, even beyond Christmas. — OW

How to watch: It’s A Wonderful Life is streaming on Hulu Live TV.

13. The Family Stone (2005)

The Family Stone is a crucial holiday movie for one very important reason: Afterwards, you will forever be haunted by the fear of dropping the casserole all over the kitchen floor on Christmas morning. Personally, I think of Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Rachel McAdams every time I bake a casserole, and thankfully, I’ve yet to drop one. But that’s just one of the many devastating moments in this dramedy about a dysfunctional family reuniting for the holidays. Parker plays Meredith, who’s visiting her boyfriend Everett’s (Dermot Mulroney) family for Christmas, which of course means chaos. There’s arguments at dinner with Everett’s gay brother who announces plans to adopt a child, there’s a car crash, more arguments, and a developing love triangle. It’s the perfect taste of comedic familial mayhem to distract you from your own dysfunctional family this holiday season (and, of course, to remind you to save your precious casseroles). — OW 

How to watch: The Family Stone is streaming on Hulu.

14. Dashing Through the Snow (2023) 

Credit: Photo by Steve Dietl. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

In the new family holiday comedy from director Tim Story (Barbershop), Lil Rel Howery is Santa Claus, or at least he says he is. Technically, his name is Nick, and everything is going wrong this Christmas Eve. After getting stuck in a chimney and rescued by a Christmas-hating social worker Eddie (Ludacris!), Nick tries his best to convince Eddie and his daughter that he’s the real Santa and not just some burglar. Unfortunately, there’s not much time to convert anyone into believers since the trio soon become embroiled in a criminal scheme run by a local congressman who’s chasing them down.

Dashing Through the Snow is a mix of Miracle on 34th Street and a Scrooge tale that finds playful ways to modernize Santa lore — like the fact that he sweats glitter and keeps his naughty and nice list on an iPad. Howery’s casting, along with the giddy energy he brings to the role, add a fun edge to the usual jolly-old-white-man Santa we’ve long seen in the movies. It might not be wholly original, but it’s light and chipper in all the ways you’d want a family Christmas movie to be. — OW

How to watch: Dashing Through the Snow is streaming on Hulu.

15. The Christmas House (2020) 

While there are dozens of cheesy Hallmark movies you could choose to watch this holiday season, The Christmas House happens to be the network’s first holiday film to feature a gay couple. Jonathan Bennett — yes, Aaron Samuels from Mean Girls — plays a baker named Brandon, alongside Brad Harder as his husband Jake. They're struggling to adopt a child but keeping it a secret from the family. That’s not the main plot of this movie though, which is called The Christmas House for a reason. Brandon and his brother Mike (Robert Buckley) return home to learn that their parents are selling the family house, but first, they’ll complete one final family tradition: converting the home into a literal Christmas house, decked from floor to ceiling with decorations. There’s a lot of other family drama going on and a bunch of plot points that make no sense, but that’s not the point! We’ve gotta watch this family build their dang Christmas house, and for some reason, it’s impossible to look away from. — OW

How to watch: The Christmas House is streaming on Hulu Live TV.

16. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) 

In Christmas in Connecticut, Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) is a magazine columnist who writes about her days as a loving housewife and mother and the recipes she cooks in her dreamy Connecticut farmhouse. Too bad Elizabeth is actually a single woman living in New York City who can’t cook for her life. Now her publisher, unaware of the lie, wants her to host a Christmas dinner for a returning war hero. Elizabeth quickly scrambles to fashion a plan to keep up the charade by agreeing to marry a friend with a farm, finding a cook to make the meals, and borrowing a neighbor’s baby. Of course, it all hilariously falls to pieces in a series of mishaps including baby swaps, stolen horses, and a night spent in jail. All the while, a romance is brewing. Christmas in Connecticut hits all the notes you’d want from a delightful screwball romcom with a great comedic Stanwyck performance. — OW

How to watch: Christmas in Connecticut is streaming on Hulu Live TV.

17. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)

What’s more magical than playing hide and seek with your siblings, only to stumble upon an old wardrobe that transports you to a wondrous new world full of talking animals? The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first film in the big-screen adaption series of The Chronicles of Narnia books, taps into that childhood fantasy of escaping the tragedies of reality to experience the magic of a winter wonderland. In the book and film’s fictional world, the kids are living through WWII, but Narnia isn’t entirely joyful either. Lucy (Georgie Henley) and her siblings soon discover that the snowy land of Narnia has been cursed by the evil White Witch (Tilda Swinton) to be forever winter but never Christmas. Thankfully, the kids do get some holiday cheer in the form of an encounter with Father Christmas himself. — OW

How to watch: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is streaming on Hulu.

18. Edward Scissorhands (1990) 

Credit: 20th Century Fox / Kobal / Shutterstock

Most people may not think of Edward Scissorhands as a Christmas movie, but I’d argue it still counts. One of the most visceral and memorable moments from the beloved Tim Burton film is Winona Ryder’s Kim twirling in the ice falling from Edward’s (Johnny Depp) angel sculpture as Danny Elfman’s ethereal score plays. It’s that beautiful, magical, heart-swelling moment that sticks in Kim’s memory, and is what frames the opening and closing of Burton’s tale. That snowy moment is also the beginning of the end of joy for Edward. 

In Burton’s film, Christmas isn’t a time of warmth, acceptance, or kindness, but it's marked by cruelty and isolation. It’s when Frankenstein’s monster with blades for hands is cast out from the normalcy of a pastel suburb and driven into the dark mansion above. It’s lonely, sad, and heartbreaking, and there’s something incredibly relatable about that for anyone who’s never had an easy relationship with or a comfortable home during the holidays. Who needs Santa when we can tell bedtime stories about Edward, up in his castle creating snow flurries and sculpting away. — OW

How to watch: Edward Scissorhands is streaming on Hulu with the Max add-on.

19. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

You know those houses that go all out for Christmas? The types that spend what seems like thousands of dollars to create the most extra, over-the-top Christmas universe? Now imagine that as a big-budget, CGI-laden movie. Turn up the theatrics to 100, and you’ve got the world of Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. 

SEE ALSO: Disney's 'live-action' adaptations, ranked — and where to watch them

In this big-screen retelling of the classic Tchaikovsky ballet, we follow Clara (Mackenzie Foy), a young girl from Victorian London as she drops into an alternate fairytale Christmas universe, Alice In Wonderland-style. She meets Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), Richard E. Grant as a man with icicles for hair, Eugenio Derbez (whose entire face is blooming with flowers), Misty Copeland as Ballerina Princess, and, most notably, Keira Knightley in the most deranged role of her career — the Sugar Plum fairy with a voice of sucked helium. The plot may be overstuffed and jumbled, but The Nutcracker and the Four Realms sure is a nutty and eye-popping spectacle to behold. — OW

How to watch: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is streaming on Hulu.

20. The Santa Clause (1994)

Ah yes, the classic '90s movie where Tim Allen accidentally kills Santa. In The Santa Clause, the first of what would soon become a trilogy, Allen’s Scott is a divorced marketing exec who doesn’t believe in Santa. After Scott spooks the old guy mid-present delivery, Santa tumbles off the roof to his death. Dark! When Scott puts on the magical suit to please his young son Charlie (Eric Lloyd), he becomes bound by the holy North Pole contract stipulating that he now must carry the mantle as the new Saint Nick. He isn’t exactly up for the job and ends up being a pretty grouchy Santa, not to mention a lactose-intolerant one, much to the disappointment of one little girl expecting him to drink his customary glass of milk. Despite some icky fatphobic jokes over Scott’s Santa weight gain, The Santa Clause is a delightfully strange and charming family movie with a clever story and some signature sardonic Tim Allen humor. — OW

How to watch: The Santa Clause is streaming on Hulu Live TV.

21. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

In the 1994 remake of the 1947 classic Miracle on 34th Street (which is also streaming on Hulu), Richard Attenborough is the loveliest of Santa Clauses, only no one believes he is. He’s a sweet old man named Kris Kringle who gets hired to play Santa in the Thanksgiving Day parade. He does such a good job that Dorey (Elizabeth Perkins), the department store director, keeps him on for the holiday season. Only thing is, this old guy keeps telling everyone that he’s the actual Santa. It causes quite a stir, especially for Dorey’s six-year-old daughter Susan (played by beloved '90s child actor Mara Wilson) who refuses to believe in the whole Santa thing. Even worse, two rival department store execs plot to have Kris institutionalized for telling people he’s Santa so they can crush Dorey’s business and steal her customers, because it always comes back to capitalism. Thankfully Dorey’s neighbor (and love interest) is a lawyer played by Dylan McDermott. Miracle on 34th Street is wholesome and touching and will probably make you cry, as any saccharine holiday film should. — OW

How to watch: Miracle on 34th Street is streaming on Hulu.

22. Eastern Promises (2007) 

Nothing says holiday cheer like Viggo Mortensen as a Russian gangster casually blow-drying a frozen corpse in front of a strand of Christmas lights. Eastern Promises doesn’t have anything to do with the holidays directly, but it is set during Christmas in London, where the atmosphere of hope and celebration is juxtaposed with violence and deceit. 

David Cronenberg’s violent crime drama — perfect for those looking for something intense and dark in place of the usual light holiday entertainment — follows Naomi Watts as a midwife who discovers the diary of a young Russian girl who died in childbirth. That diary leads her to the local headquarters of the Russian mafia, and a dark scheme led by top boss Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), his loose-cannon son (Vincent Cassel), and their newest recruit and fixer Nikolai (an excellent Mortensen covered in tattoos). A suspenseful and gory mystery unfolds as Watts's Anna gets closer to the truth, and Nikolai balances carrying out his boss's orders with helping her. Morality and corruption constantly bleed into one another in Cronenberg’s fantastic crime fable, which features an all-timer nude fight sequence in a bath house. — OW

How to watch: Eastern Promisesis streaming on Hulu with the Max add-on.

23. The Polar Express (2004)

Leave it to filmmaker Robert Zemeckis to bring the wonder of a children’s book to vivid life on screen. The Polar Express expands Chris Van Allsburg’s beloved Christmas story into a film about a young boy who boards a magical train on its way to the North Pole. Tom Hanks plays and voices a handful of roles, including the train's conductor, a Scrooge puppet, and Santa Claus himself. What’s most notable about The Polar Express is the visual world it creates, converting the quiet classicism and awe of the book’s illustrations into a CG world. Back in 2004, it was the first feature-length film to be shot entirely using motion-capture, and the first big studio IMAX 3D movie to ever hit screens. While those visuals have certainly not aged well with time, The Polar Express still manages to capture the magical spirit of Christmas viewed through the eyes of a child. — OW

How to watch: The Polar Express is streaming on Hulu.

24. Holiday Affair (1949)

In Holiday Affair, a young Janet Leigh (years before her most famous role in Psycho) plays a woman caught in a love triangle. In this 1949 rom-com, Leigh’s Connie is a mother and a widow of a war veteran, and she’s just accepted a marriage proposal from Carl (Wendell Corey). He’s a nice, reliable guy and a successful lawyer, but man, is he a boring dud. Then Connie meets the handsome and charming Steve (played with warmth by Robert Mitchum) at a toy store while buying her son a train set for Christmas — there’s just something undeniably romantic about trains at Christmas! He doesn’t hesitate to woo her, and Connie begins to question if Carl’s the guy she really wants to be with. 

Holiday Affair is classic rom-com setup about a woman torn between one suitor offering passion, and the other promising stability. It’s a testament to the power of a great story and strong performances in an early iteration of a rom-com narrative that’s been revamped dozens of times since. — OW

How to watch: Holiday Affair is streaming on Hulu Live TV.

25. The Happiest Season

An excellent cast for this modern Christmas flick. Credit: Hulu

The perfect Christmas rom-com for the 2020s, The Happiest Season follows young couple Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and Abby (Kristen Stewart) as they head to Harper’s family’s home for Christmas. The only issue is that Harper has yet to come out to her family, which leaves Abby in the uncomfortable position of having to lie about herself for the holidays. The cast here is top notch. Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis shine in their lead roles, and the internet had a complete breakdown about how magnetic Aubrey Plaza is as Harper’s ex-girlfriend, Riley. Alison Brie, Dan Levy, Mary Holland, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen round out the sparkling cast in this film co-written and directed by Clea DuVall. 

It’s a much-needed and utterly modern take on the holiday romance. And what’s more, it feels believable, which is almost unheard of for a Christmas movie! Don’t waste another second waiting to watch this intelligent, funny, and cheerily sincere film. — Kristina Grosspietsch, Freelance Contributor

How to Watch: The Happiest Season is streaming on Hulu.

26. Dear Santa 

We know what the people want for Christmas: an informative documentary! Dear Santa delves into the U.S. Postal Service’s 100-year-old "Operation Santa" program, which enables members of the public to fulfill the Christmas wishes of needy kids country-wide. Every year, thousands of children drop off letters to Santa at the post office, and Dear Santa takes us on a journey across the country to show how they facilitate making those kids’ dreams come true. The documentary floats on the kindness and magic of this massive USPS program and is certain to fill your heart with yuletide warmth. – KG

How to Watch: Dear Santa is streaming on Hulu.

27. The Mistle-Tones

Tia Mowry is Holly, a bubbly woman whose greatest dream in life is to join the local Christmas cover group, the Snow Belles, and spend every Christmas Eve… checks notes … singing at the mall. But when Holly is denied a spot in the group by Snow Belle queen and diva Marci, played by none other than Tori Spelling, she starts her own singing group and competes with the Snow Belles for the coveted mall gig. 

The Mistle-Tones is fun and fluffy, and it stays engaging thanks to its multiple Christmas medley performances. There is romance here for Holly — her boss is a standoffish workaholic? I bet that’s about to change!!! — but Mowry and Spelling are both so accustomed to the camera, their casual self-assurance tends to steal most of their scenes. – KG

How to Watch: The Mistle-Tones is streaming on Hulu.

UPDATE: Dec. 8, 2023, 2:15 p.m. EST This list has been updated to include the latest Hulu offerings.

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