Month: January 2026

A U.S. Army squadron tasked with a reconnaissance mission in South Korea was deactivated last month, a congressional report showed Thursday, amid speculation that Washington could consider a troop drawdown in the allied country in a force posture adjustment.

The 5th Air Cavalry Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (5-17 ACS) at Camp Humphreys, a key U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul, ceased its operation on Dec. 15, a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report said, citing information from the U.S. Army. It had served in Korea to support the 2nd Infantry Division since May 2022.

Its deactivation as part of an Army transformation initiative came amid lingering concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump‘s administration could seek a ground troop reduction of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) as part of an adjustment to better counter threats from an assertive China.

5-17 ACS is known to have had hundreds of personnel, as well as aviation and reconnaissance assets, including AH-64E Apache helicopters and RQ-7B Shadow drones. It is unclear whether the deactivation means the pullout of the unit’s personnel and assets or whether there will be a replacement unit.

Comment from the U.S. Army on the deactivation was not immediately available.

A day after the 5-17 ACS deactivation, the Army restructured the 2nd Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade Medical Evacuation (CAB MEDEVAC) unit, the CRS report said without elaboration.

5-17 ACS was activated in 2022, taking over the role of what had been rotational air cavalry squadrons to provide more stability to U.S. defense operations and enhance defense readiness in South Korea.

Speculation about a potential U.S. troop cut in Korea has persisted as Washington calls for Seoul to take greater responsibility for its own defense while seeking to bolster U.S. capabilities to better address potential China-related contingencies, including those related to Taiwan.

That speculation was reinforced as last year’s key security document between Seoul and Washington omitted language committing the U.S. to maintaining the “current” USFK troop level, with U.S. officials emphasizing the importance of “capabilities” rather than the troop numbers.

Last May, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. was weighing the idea of pulling out roughly 4,500 troops from South Korea and moving them to other locations in the Indo-Pacific, including Guam. The Pentagon dismissed it as “not true,” reaffirming that America remains “fully” committed to the defense of South Korea.

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Venezuela leader strikes conciliatory tone while renewing claim US wants to topple government to access vast oil reserves.

Venezuela is open to negotiating a deal with the United States to combat drug trafficking, President Nicolas Maduro has said, even as he remained silent on a reported CIA-led strike on his country last week.

The latest statement, made during an interview that aired on Thursday, comes as Maduro has struck a more conciliatory tone towards the US amid Washington’s months-long sanctions and military pressure campaign.

That included, on Thursday, the release of more than 80 prisoners accused of protesting his disputed victory in the 2024 election, the second such release in recent days.

“Wherever they want and whenever they want,” Maduro told Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet of the idea of dialogue with the US on drug trafficking, oil and migration in an interview on state TV.

He stressed that it is time for both nations to “start talking seriously, with data in hand”.

“The US government knows, because we’ve told many of their spokespeople, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we’re ready,” he said.

Still, Maduro renewed his allegations that the US is trying to topple his government and gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves through Washington’s months-long sanctions and military pressure campaign.

“If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for US investment, like with Chevron,” he added, referring to the US oil giant, which is the only major oil company exporting Venezuelan crude to the US.

Asked point-blank by Ramonet if he confirmed or denied a US attack on Venezuelan soil, Maduro said: “This could be something we talk about in a few days.”

To date, Maduro has not confirmed a US land attack on a docking facility that allegedly targeted drug boats.

For months, the US has launched numerous strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats originating from Venezuela, in what rights groups have decried as extrajudicial killings. The Trump administration has also imposed a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers entering and exiting Venezuela’s coast.

Tensions further escalated after Trump revealed earlier this week a strike on a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats, in the first known attack on Venezuelan territory of the US campaign.

Trump has not confirmed widespread reports in US media that the attack was a CIA operation or where it occurred, saying only it was “along the shore”.

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

“So we hit all the boats and now we hit the area, it’s the implementation area, that’s where they implement. And that is no longer around.”

The US president has repeatedly threatened ground strikes on drug cartels in the region, which he has labelled “narcoterrorists”. He has claimed, without providing evidence, that Maduro leads a trafficking organisation that aims to destabilise the US by flooding it with drugs.

However, regional experts have noted that Venezuela is not known to be involved in the illicit fentanyl trade, which far and away accounts for the highest number of overdose deaths in the US. Trump has labelled the drug a “weapon of mass destruction”.

Maduro has said the Trump administration’s approach makes it “clear” that the US “seek to impose themselves” on Venezuela through “threats, intimidation and force”.

Maduro’s interview was taped on New Year’s Eve, the same day the US military struck five alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing at least five people.

The latest attacks bring the total number of known boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to 35 and the number of people killed to at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

Venezuelans and Colombians have been among the victims.

CELEBRITY make-up artist and reality TV star Jasen Kaplan has died, as Kelly Osbourne grieves the loss of her “dear friend”.

The beloved entertainment industry heavyweight sadly passed away on Wednesday in a New York City hospital.

NYPD said they were investigating the death of a man at Kaplan’s apartment building.

The chief medical examiner is still yet to determine the cause of death.

Kaplan, 46, has been remembered by his long-time friend Kelly Osbourne.

“I’m devastated. I love you so much,” Osbourne, 41, wrote on Instagram.

“Thank you for all the love, laughter and joy you brought [to] my life. I hope you are at peace now.

“Life will never be the same without you! RIP my dear friend.”

Osbourne recalled her friend to be the funniest person she knew.

“You were the best wing man a girl could ask for. 25 years of friendship and every second was worth it,” she wrote.

Kaplan made a name for himself when he started working with Brittny and Lisa Gastineau on their 2005 show “Gastineau Girls.”

He went on to become the go-to makeup artist for many celebrities, including Cyndi Lauper, Eva Longoria and Lynda Carter.

He did The Real Housewives of New York City alum Tinsley Mortimer’s makeup for her wedding to Robert Bovard in 2023.

More recently, Kaplan had the chance to work with Bethenny Frankel on numerous campaigns with brands like MCoBeauty and Terez clothing.

He had a strong social media presence, with over 95.4K followers on Instagram, sharing makeup tips and his work wit celebrity clients and brands.

He was the “father” to his beloved dog Coco, understood to be the “love of his life” and featured heavily on his social media.

Kaplan was a contestant on “Finding Prince Charming” , a gay bachelor-style dating show which aired in 2016.

His bio for the show read: “He has a great sense of humor but isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. He’s bright, exuberant and completely comfortable with himself.

“Although he is a total flirt and loves dating apps, he’ll only take a relationship to the next level if he really feels like he’s in love.”

He was eliminated in episode two.

Gambian authorities say 96 people rescued after boat capsizes along popular West African migration route.

At least seven people have died after a boat carrying more than 200 people capsized along a popular migration route off the Gambian coast, with dozens more believed to be missing, local authorities say.

The boat was reported to have capsized around midnight on Thursday in the vicinity of a village in The Gambia’s North Bank region, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

Authorities said seven bodies were recovered, and at least 96 people were rescued, many of whom were seriously wounded.

Alerted by a distress call, the Gambian navy launched a search-and-rescue operation after midnight, involving several naval vessels and a fishing boat that came to assist, according to the statement.

The shipwrecked vessel was later found “grounded into a sandbank”, the Defence Ministry said.

Several of the victims have been identified as not being of Gambian nationality, and the authorities are currently verifying their identity, the statement added.

The Gambia has become a jumping-off point for migrants and asylum seekers seeking to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, a gateway to continental Europe, by boat from West Africa.

According to the European Union, more than 46,000 migrants reached the Canary Islands in 2024.

More than 10,000 people died attempting the journey across the Atlantic, a 58 percent increase over 2023, according to the rights group Caminando Fronteras.

However, irregular migration into the EU along the West African route fell 60 percent during the first 11 months of 2025, according to the Frontex border agency, which credited stronger prevention efforts by departure countries for the drop.

Still, migrants and asylum seekers continue to try to reach Europe on flimsy and often overcrowded vessels.

In May, seven women and girls died when a small boat transporting more than 100 people capsized while approaching the Canary Islands.

STC separatists accuse Saudi Arabia of requiring flights to UAE to land in Jeddah; Saudi source rejects claim.

Flights from Aden international airport in Yemen were halted on Thursday amid continuing tensions between the Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatist group and the Saudi Arabia-backed internationally recognised government in Yemen.

Reuters news agency reported that all flights were suspended at the airport on Thursday, although further details of flight operations and possible resumptions remained unclear.

The STC has formally been a part of the Saudi-led coalition that, since 2015, has been fighting the Houthi takeover of large parts of Yemen. But the STC also seeks to carve out a separate nation in southern Yemen, and in December, expanded its military operations in Hadramout and al-Mahra provinces that border Saudi Arabia, setting off a rapid escalation in tensions.

Saudi Arabia has accused the United Arab Emirates – also a part of the anti-Houthi coalition – of arming the STC and of encouraging the separatist group to expand into Hadramout and al-Mahra, which Riyadh has said threatens its national security. The UAE has denied those allegations, insisting that it supports Saudi Arabia’s security.

However, while the UAE has since agreed to demands from Yemen’s Riyadh-backed Presidential Leadership Council and Saudi Arabia to withdraw its troops from Yemen, the STC has refused to pull back from Hadramout and al-Mahra.

On Thursday, the STC-aligned Transport Ministry within the internationally recognised government claimed that the stoppage at the airport was a result of Saudi Arabia imposing new requirements mandating that flights to and from Aden airport undergo inspection in Jeddah.

The ministry said it was “shocked” by the move, adding that Saudi authorities later clarified the restriction only applied to flights operating between Aden and the United Arab Emirates.

A Saudi source denied to the Reuters news agency that it was involved in restricting flights, saying Yemen’s internationally recognised government, led by the Presidential Leadership Council, was behind the requirement for UAE-bound flights.

Yemeni presidential adviser, Thabet al-Ahmadi, confirmed to Al Jazeera that it had imposed a requirement that applied to one flight route departing from Aden airport. He said the move was meant to prevent STC money smuggling.

Al-Ahmadi said the government did not support a complete halt to flights, adding it wanted to ensure air traffic continued unimpeded.

Earlier this week, the UAE announced it was voluntarily withdrawing its remaining “counterterrorism” forces from Yemen. That came after Riyadh struck what it claimed to be a UAE-linked weapons shipment in the southern port city of Mukalla.

On Wednesday, Rashad al-Alimi, the head of the internationally recognised government in Yemen, warned that any moves by the STC to further entrench their position in the provinces would have severe consequences.

The STC has, however, remained defiant, saying it would remain in the provinces.

However, STC spokesperson Mohammed al-Naqeeb said the group was coordinating its movements with the Homeland Shield forces, which had been the main security force in the provinces prior to the STC offensive. The Homeland Shield is affiliated with the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition.

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since Houthi forces took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014. The group continues to control large swaths of the country’s northwest, with the STC and government contesting the southern and eastern flanks.

As part of Something For the Weekend’s Big 2026 Preview, we’ve put together a guide for all of the rising stars to keep an ear out for this year.

Here, Jacqui Swift gives her verdict on twenty emerging acts.

ROSE GREY

EAST Londoner Grey has been grafting since 2019, blending glossy pop hooks with the strobes of under­ground club culture.

Before the buzz, she was working on the door at London club Fabric – so she knows her way around dancefloors.

She says of her sound: “It is definitely pop, but it has its roots in the soundscapes and world of underground club culture, dance music, electronic, electro-clash”

Grey’s debut album Louder, Please, pulls in an impressive roll call, with collaborations from Melanie C, Shygirl, Casey MQ and Jade.

READ MORE ON YOUNG MUSICIANS

SON MIGHT SAY

Gene Gallagher looks just like dad Liam after boozy night out

NEPO BABY BANTER

Cruz Beckham mocks his nepo baby status as he shares clip of new single

She has supported Charli XCX, Kesha and Scissor Sisters.

TYLER BALLGAME

BALLGAME is from Los Angeles via Rhode Island and channels a dramatic, soul sound that sits somewhere between Roy Orbison, Tim Buckley and Alabama Shakes.

His debut album For The First Time, Again arrives on January 30.

You might already have caught him performing Got A New Car on Later . . . With Jools Holland, and he’s in the UK at the end of the month for a run of in-store shows.

ISSAC RYAN BROWN

THE US actor, rapper and singer is best known for playing Booker, the psychic son of the titular character in Disney Channel’s sitcom Raven’s Home.

Hailing from Detroit, this 20-year-old draws inspiration from the smooth soul of Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder.

Brown releases new single End Of The Season on February 6, and the hype around him is already big, with some tipping him as a new-generation Michael Jackson or Usher.

JACOB ALON

THE Scottish folk sensation is having a huge moment.

The singer-songwriter’s Mercury Prize-nominated debut album In Limerence landed in 2025, and now Alon has been shortlisted for the 2026 Brits Critics’ Choice Award.

Inspired by Nick Drake, Alon was introduced to music as a youngster, learning piano at age nine and picking up the guitar at 15.

The singer also played Glastonbury and Latitude and it was only because of lockdown that the singer began to commit to his music.

“I never took it very seriously until Covid hit and then I needed it. I needed to write to process. I was living on my own and songwriting became a way to understand the chaos.”

VILLANELLE

LED by Gene Gallagher, son of Liam, this London trio are already generating a serious buzz.

Gallagher, guitarist Ben Taylor and bassist Jack Schiavo met through mutual friends in a bar in 2023.

You may have caught them supporting Liam on his solo Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour in 2024.

Drawing comparisons to Nirvana, Black Sabbath and Arctic Monkeys, Villanelle deal in gritty, straight-up rock with sharp edges.

Debut single Hinge sees Gallagher tackling paranoia and sleepless nights.

ALESSI ROSE

RISING English indie-pop singer-songwriter from Derby, Rose has carved out her own lane with confessional pop and raw lyrics that focus on heartbreak, love and femininity.

Emotionally open and sharply observational, she’s already drawing comparisons to Olivia Rodrigo and Gracie Abrams.

She’s supported Noah Kahan and Tate McRae, and of her no-nonsense approach to songwriting she says: “If people don’t want me to write bad songs about them, they shouldn’t do bad things.”

EIGHTY EIGHT MILES

THE Midlands five-piece fronted by singer Ellie Grice are quickly building a reputation as a must-see live band.

They have wowed crowds at Isle of Wight Festival, Viva Sounds in Sweden, The Great Escape, Truck Festival, Y Not Festival and 2000 Trees, notching serious word-of-mouth along the way.

They’ve also landed choice support slots with The Lottery Winners, Red Rum Club and The K’s, while Fleetwood Mac legend Lindsey Buckingham has publicly heaped praise on them.

ALEX SPENCER

FROM Droylsden, Gtr Manchester, though born in Barcelona to a Spanish mum, Spencer has been picking up momentum fast.

Fresh back from a run of UK dates with Corella and a high-profile support slot opening for The Black Keys at Alexandra Palace Park in London, he’s now lining up a run of UK headline shows for next month.

Influenced by Sam Fender, Catfish And The Bottlemen and Arctic Monkeys, he travelled extensively as a child and wrote his first song while on a family trip to India.

THE GUEST LIST

FORMED in early 2021, The Guest List quickly built a huge online following after a number of energised indie covers.

Frontman Cai Alty says they are “a band from Manchester, not just a Manchester band”.

Often compared to Sam Fender, Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, they worked early on with The Coral’s James Skelly, who produced the singles London and Loose Tongue.

They’ve since won more fans after touring with Inhaler, Blossoms and Two Door Cinema Club.

MACKENZY MACKAY

MACKAY broke through in 2022 with song The One That You Call, quickly earning comparisons to Post Malone and Ed Sheeran.

Built around heartfelt storytelling and a genuine connection with his audience, his music has steadily found its people.

Tracks such as This Life, Broke and Cats & Dogs have helped grow a loyal fanbase.

AIN’T

LONDON outfit fronted by Hanna Baker Darch on vocals and George Ellerby on guitar and vocals, Ain’t pull together ’90s guitar music.

They have supported Thus Love on their UK tour, opened for Sunflower Bean, and will take part in The Great Escape Festival in Brighton in May.

Latest single Long Short Round follows recent release Jude.

SIENNA SPIRO

LONDON singer-songwriter known for her deep alto vocals and viral TikTok covers. She draws inspiration from Amy Winehouse, Frank Sinatra and Etta James.

Spiro started writing songs at age ten as a way of processing her emotions, and by 16 had left school to pursue music full-time.

Her breakout moment came with Maybe, a powerful, straight-talking anthem about self-worth that struck a chord far beyond social media and marked her out as a serious new voice.

THE SLATES

THE Slates are a West Yorkshire indie rock band you might have spotted tearing up festival stages at Isle of Wight, Truck and Y Not.

Their debut single Calling Up landed as a song of the summer, with frontman Louis Barnes saying it reflects “the feeling of rejection and feeling left out”.

DEAD DADS CLUB

THE new project fronted by Palma Violets’ Chilli Jesson is built around a deeply personal, self-titled debut album exploring his emotional journey following the death of his father when he was just 14.

Produced by Fontaines D.C.’s Carlos O’Connell.

CARDINALS

IRISH five-piece Cardinals are set to release their debut album Masquerade in February, and already have some serious backing.

Fontaines D.C. singer Grian Chatten is a vocal fan, calling them his favourite Irish band, while live shows alongside The Pogues and NewDad have helped spread the word fast.

Fronted by Euan Manning, with brother Finn adding accordion.

TOLOU

NORWEGIAN Nigerian singer Tolou blends the atmospheric textures of her former home Tromso with the vibrant rhythms of her African heritage.

She describes the resultant sound as Afro-Scandi pop.

Her influences range from Lana Del Rey and Burna Boy to Robyn and Bruno Mars but her main inspirations are Rihanna and Beyonce.

SAINT HARISON

A SOUTHAMPTON-born songwriter and R&B artist, Saint Harison’s music is rooted in soul-baring honesty, using songwriting to process emotion and hardship.

Introduced to Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and Marvin Gaye by his grandad, he won a local singing competition at the age of 13 and is set to release his EP in early 2026.

MARY MIDDLEFIELD

THE Swiss musician and songwriter has been classically trained on the violin since the age of five.

Middlefield’s work brings a refined, emotionally direct edge to modern pop.

Her latest single The Feast landed in late 2025, building on earlier releases such as Atlantis and Summer Affair as she gears up for a new project in 2026.

ANDREW WASYLYK

A SCOTTISH composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Wasylyk’s work drifts between modern classical, ambient and soundtrack worlds.

His single First Moonbeams Of Adulthood came out in November 2025, and is from the anticipated forthcoming album due this spring.

GIRL TONES

THIS US rock duo made up of sisters Kenzie on vocals and guitar and Laila on drums, are often compared to The White Stripes.

The Girl Tones’ debut releases, including recent single Burnout, were produced by Brad Shultz of Cage The Elephant.

They have toured with Cage The Elephant alongside The Velveteers and Silversun Pickups.

Dec. 31 (Asia Today) — South Korean police investigating lobbying allegations involving the Unification Church raided the home of Jeong Won-ju, a former chief secretary to church leader Han Hak-ja, on Wednesday, authorities said.

The National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters special task force carried out a search and seizure at Jeong’s residence in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, in connection with allegations that former Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Jae-su accepted bribes, police said.

Investigators also searched the office of the special prosecutor handling a case involving former first lady Kim Keon-hee in Seoul’s Jongno district, police said, adding they secured materials related to the bribery allegations.

Jeong was sent to prosecutors the previous day on suspicion of violating the Political Funds Act over what police described as split donations to politicians from both major parties in early 2019. In the Jeon case, police are treating Jeong as a witness, according to the report.

Jeon is accused of receiving 20 million won (about $15,000) in cash and a luxury watch worth 10 million won (about $7,700) from the Unification Church in 2018 along with requests tied to church-related issues.

Police previously summoned Jeon as a suspect on Dec. 19 on allegations including violating the Political Funds Act. Investigators executed search warrants on Dec. 23 targeting Bulgari Korea and Cartier as they sought to verify the timing and value of the alleged gifts, the report said.

Police are expected to summon Jeon again after reviewing materials seized in the latest searches, it said.

Separately, police began questioning a former chair of the Universal Peace Federation, a Unification Church affiliate tied to the Korea-Japan undersea tunnel project, as a witness Wednesday, the report said. The tunnel project is considered one of the major issues the church lobbied for in political circles.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Kim Ju Ae’s first public visit to the Kumsusan Mausoleum added to speculation she may become the next in line.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Ju Ae, who is widely speculated to be his potential successor, made her first public visit to the Kumsusan Mausoleum in Pyongyang alongside her parents, state media images show.

Photographs released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday captured the family paying respects to Ju Ae’s grandfather and great-grandfather, Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung, the founder of the North Korean state. Analysts say that propaganda surrounding the Kim family’s “Paektu bloodline” has allowed its members to dominate daily life in the isolated country and maintain power for decades.

Over the past three years, Ju Ae has appeared more frequently in state media, prompting speculation from analysts and South Korea’s intelligence services that she may be positioned as the country’s fourth-generation leader.

Photographs show Ju Ae accompanying her father, mother Ri Sol Ju, and senior officials on the visit on January 1, standing between her parents in the main hall of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.

Ju Ae was first publicly introduced in 2022 when she accompanied her father to the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Believed to have been born in the early 2010s, she also took part in this year’s New Year celebrations, and in September made her first public overseas visit, travelling to Beijing with her father.

The visit to the mausoleum coincided with key dates and anniversaries, reinforcing the dynastic narrative of the nuclear-armed state. North Korean media have referred to her as “the beloved child” and a “great person of guidance” – or “hyangdo” in Korean – a term traditionally reserved for top leaders and their designated successors.

Prior to 2022, Ju Ae’s existence had only been indirectly confirmed by former NBA player Dennis Rodman, who visited the North in 2013.

North Korea’s leaders have never formally announced their successors, instead signalling transitions gradually through public appearances and expanding official responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un has pledged to further increase production of missiles and artillery shells, describing them as a “war deterrent” amid heightened military readiness from the United States and South Korea.

Are you wondering, like Alixandra Kupcik, where did all the feel-good movies go?

She must have written that story before “Song Sung Blue” came out. Because Hugh Jackman passionately describing the greatness of Neil Diamond’s “Soolaimon” and then demonstrating that song’s grandeur by performing it in the new film “Song Sung Blue” is the definition of corny, feel-good comfort.

Which leads me to my question to you this day: Have you seen “Marty Supreme”? And what feelings — good, bad, uneasy, elated — did that movie arouse in you?

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter. Time to wipe down the ping-pong table?

Inside the reactions to ‘Marty Supreme’

He summited the Sphere, exhorting us to “dream big.” He shot a rap music video to debunk the conspiracy theory that he is a popular British rapper. He has popped up at screenings flanked by bodyguards sporting giant orange ping-pong balls for heads.

Leading up to the Christmas Day premiere of his new movie, “Marty Supreme,” Timothée Chalamet was front and center in a promotional tour that was unhinged, delightful and, judging from the weekend’s box office, quite successful.

“Marty Supreme,” the wildly entertaining, over-caffeinated portrait of a single-minded ping-pong player, took in $27 million over the four-day Christmas weekend, the best opening in distributor A24’s history. The numbers surpassed the opening of “A Complete Unknown,” last year’s Chalamet Christmas release that featured the actor playing Bob Dylan in his formative years.

Not everyone was on board with “Marty.” Moviegoers gave the movie a B+ rating with market research company CinemaScore. That’s good, but not great. (“A Complete Unknown,” by comparison, earned an A.)

Podcaster Claira Curtis’ experience seeing the movie at the Grove feels like an accurate representation of the “Marty Supreme” adventure: “Packed ‘Marty Supreme theater had the full range of reactions. There were people walking out halfway through. There were people clapping. There was someone coming out of it saying, ‘Eh, it was fine’ & then their friend went, ‘Are you insane? It was peak!’”

The disparate responses reflect a couple of things.

One, not everyone embraces the Safdie brand of anxiety-inducing cinema. Josh Safdie directed “Marty.” His brother, Benny, made “The Smashing Machine,” released earlier this year. Together, they made “Uncut Gems” and “Good Time,” movies that, take your pick, were exhilarating or excruciating. Or both! (Exclamation point intended. These are exclamation-point films.)

And two, the title character in “Marty Supreme” is a lot — an undeniably talented, relentless self-promoter careening toward his goals of fame and fortune with little regard to the damage he is inflicting on others. He’s despicable, but also, as played by Chalamet, winningly charming. Unless you find Chalamet annoying. Then you’re probably best-served listening to Hugh Jackman sing Neil Diamond songs.

Chalamet has channeled Marty’s earnest energy in his promotional appearances for the film.

“This is a movie about sacrifice in pursuit of a dream,” he told Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show.” “And it’s something I can relate to deeply. And we live in a bleak time, especially for young people, so this film is an attempted antidote to that.”

Chalamet then pivoted to the camera, the better to look into viewers’ eyes.

“And to continue to believe in yourself and to continue to dream big and to follow your dreams and not take no for an answer. That’s the spirit of ‘Marty Supreme,’ out on Christmas Day.”

Judging from the box office, Chalamet has pushed across the message. Will it work on awards voters, giving Chalamet the first Oscar of his career? As we head into the new year, the next phase of the “Marty” tour promises to be the season’s most interesting storyline. Gas up the blimp!

More coverage of ‘Marty Supreme’

Gage Goncalves scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:41 to play, and the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a late deficit to beat the Kings 5-3 on Thursday night for their sixth consecutive victory.

Anthony Cirelli scored the tying goal with 3:19 left in regulation for the Lightning, who fell behind early in the third period on Kevin Fiala‘s power-play goal.

Cirelli crashed the net and pushed home his 11th goal on a play set up by Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov. Moments later, Cirelli and Goncalves drove the net again, and Goncalves eventually converted a behind-the-net pass from Jake Guentzel for his fourth goal.

Brayden Point had his first two-goal game of the season and Kucherov capped a three-point night by putting his 19th goal into an empty net for the Lightning, who have won back-to-back games to begin their three-game California road trip. Point also scored in Tampa Bay’s 4-3 overtime victory against the Ducks on Wednesday.

Jonas Johansson stopped 17 shots for Tampa Bay (24-13-3), which hasn’t lost since Dec. 18.

Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko each had a goal and an assist on the power play for the Kings (16-14-9), who collapsed late in their eighth loss in 10 games despite scoring multiple man-advantage goals for the first time all season. Los Angeles entered the night with the NHL’s worst power play, scoring on just 14.4% of its chances.

Corey Perry had his first three-assist game since November 2019, setting up both power-play goals and giving him 499 career assists.

Jeff Malott also scored, and Darcy Kuemper returned from injury to make 18 saves in the Canadian Olympic team selection’s first appearance since Dec. 15.

Up next for the Kings: vs. Minnesota at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.

New York, United States – Sprawling crowds, a seven-block-long party and chants to “tax the rich” in the world’s wealthiest city marked Zohran Mamdani’s public inauguration as New York City mayor on Thursday, as the metropolis welcomed a new year with a new leadership.

Political inaugurations are usually more stolid affairs. But, as he had in his campaign for the mayoralty, Mamdani flipped the script with his swearing-in events.

In act one, just after midnight, as the ball dropped in Times Square to ring in 2026, Mamdani took the oath of office in a small ceremony on the steps of the landmark New York City Hall subway station.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath as Mamdani stood beside his wife, Rama Duwaji, on a staircase inside the transit hub, which has not been used for passenger service since 1945. He used a historic Quran borrowed from the New York Public Library for his swearing in, and a second one that belonged to his grandfather.

The public celebration arrived later, on New Year’s Day, when Mamdani repeated the oath on the steps of City Hall before a crowd that spilled across the surrounding plaza and into the streets. Despite the blistering cold, tens of thousands of supporters streamed into Lower Manhattan to watch the new mayor – along with the city’s comptroller, Mark Levine, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams – formally assume office.

National political heavyweights, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, flanked the city’s new leadership and delivered speeches outlining the progressive movement’s governing ambitions in New York and the national reverberations the race has already sent to lawmakers across the country.

“The most important lesson that can be learned today is that when working people stand, when they don’t let them [the ultra-wealthy] divide us up, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish,” Sanders said before swearing in Mamdani.

While guests and the press gathered inside the City Hall grounds, the city staged a seven-block-long public block party – a new twist on the traditionally ticketed inauguration format. In addition to a closed event capped at a few thousand attendees, anyone willing to RSVP and endure the frigid air and blustering winds after a night of snowfall could try their luck at getting in.

And many did, bundled New Yorkers shuffled through security checkpoints, hoping to glimpse the swearing-in of a 34-year-old democratic socialist now charged with running the largest city in the United States, streaming on large monitors stationed throughout the surrounding area outside City Hall.

Some supporters told Al Jazeera they waited in line for hours, and many never made it through the checkpoints in time. While crowds cheered and horns blasted in solidarity from a distance, a handful of protesters lingered behind police barricades.

The block party in and of itself was symbolic in its effort to reach more New Yorkers who have normally been left out of the political process, Democratic strategist Nomiki Konst told Al Jazeera.

“It was a way of opening up something that hasn’t been accessible for anybody, you know, that wasn’t part of the inner circle of New York politics and media,” Konst told Al Jazeera.

“It was an opportunity to give back to the people who helped him get into office.”

A message of unity and affordability

Mamdani, Williams and Levine spoke about unity for all New Yorkers, delivering remarks in English, Spanish, Hebrew and Greek, and appearing alongside faith leaders of several different faiths, including Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

“We have three swearings-in. One by a leader using a Quran, one by a leader using a Christian Bible, and one using a Hebrew Bible. I am proud to live in a city where this is possible,” Levine said after taking the oath of office.

Mamdani echoed that sentiment.

“We will draw this city closer together. We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism. If our campaign demonstrated that the people of New York yearn for solidarity, then let this government foster it,” Mamdani said in his address.

“We will deliver nothing less as we work each day to make this city belong to more of its people than it did the day before.”

But the core message, voiced repeatedly by Mamdani, Levine, Williams, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, was the same one that defined the campaign: that the ultra wealthy should pay higher taxes.

“Demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes is not radical. It is exactly the right thing to do,” Sanders said, as supporters chanted, “Tax the rich.”

One of Mamdani’s core promises was to raise the corporate tax rate in New York City from 7.25 percent to 11.5 percent, equivalent to that of neighbouring New Jersey, as well as a 2 percent increase in taxes on those who make more than $1m a year. Any tax plan would need the approval of the governor to move forward.

“This movement came out of eight-and-a-half million somewheres – taxi cab depots and Amazon warehouses, DSA [Democratic Socialists of America] meetings and curbside domino games. The powers that be had looked away from these places for quite some time – if they’d known about them at all – so they dismissed them as nowhere. But in our city, where every corner of these five boroughs holds power, there is no nowhere and there is no no one,” Mamdani said.

Housing policy has been central to that affordability message for Mamdani. One of his signature campaign promises was to freeze the rent on the city’s rental stabilised apartments, which represent about half of the city’s rental housing stock.

“Those in rent-stabilised homes will no longer dread the latest rent hike – because we will freeze the rent,” Mamdani said in his remarks.

Only hours later, Mamdani introduced a slate of executive orders all aimed at housing.

“On the first day of this new administration, on the day when so many rent payments are due, we will not wait to deliver action,” Mamdani said at a news conference.

He announced three executive orders inside a rent-stabilised building in Brooklyn, including the creation of two new city task forces on housing policy: one to take inventory of city-owned land that could be used for housing, and another to identify ways to spur development.

“The housing crisis is at the centre of our affordability crisis. There are a number of things we are going to be focused on: protecting tenants, going after bad landlords, and building more housing. A huge part of how we get out of our housing crisis is to build more affordable housing across the city,” Leila Bozorg, the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning, told Al Jazeera on the steps of City Hall hours before announcing the new policies.

“These are policy decisions we can address if we have the political will and if we put the resources behind it. And that is what he [Mamdani] is committed to doing.”

Legislation signed by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov establishes a licensing scheme overseen by country’s central bank.

Turkmenistan, one of the world’s most isolated nations, has officially legalised mining and exchanging cryptocurrency in a major shift for the country’s tightly controlled, gas-dependent economy.

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed the legislation on Thursday, regulating virtual assets under civil law and establishing a licensing scheme for cryptocurrency exchanges overseen by the country’s central bank.

However, digital currencies will still not be recognised as a means of payment, currency or security.

Turkmenistan, a former Soviet country in Central Asia, relies heavily on the export of its vast natural gas reserves to support its economy.

China is the country’s main importer of gas, and Turkmenistan is currently working on a pipeline to supply gas to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Turkmenistan has been taking steps to digitalise government functions as well as its economy.

In April, it adopted a law introducing electronic visas aimed at simplifying entry for foreigners.

After gaining independence in 1991, the tightly governed nation typically placed strict entry requirements on would-be visitors, with many visa applications turned down for unclear reasons.

A mostly desert country of seven million people with the world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves, Turkmenistan declared itself officially neutral in 1995 under its first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, who spurned both Western and Russian influence.

Until his death in 2006, Niyazov maintained tight control over politics, a policy of isolationism from the outside world, and an economy heavily based on natural gas exports.

Since succeeding his father as president in 2022, Berdymukhamedov has signalled some opening.

In December, he hinted at possible political reforms ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian.

“We are carrying out extensive work aimed at transforming our neutral country into a powerful, democratic, and rule-of-law state where citizens live happy lives,” Berdymukhamedov said in the article, without giving further details.

While Turkmenistan’s internet remains tightly regulated and controlled by the government, curbs on social media have been eased, and the government has pledged to open new air transport links and liberalise its visa system.

Still, the country is ranked by the Committee to Protect Journalists as one of the worst in the world for independent media.

Kyrgyzstan, another former Soviet Central Asian republic, has also positioned itself as a regional leader in the sector, launching a national stablecoin in partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

A historic theater in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol has opened its doors more than three years after it was pummeled in a Russian airstrike that killed hundreds of civilians sheltering inside.

Moscow-installed authorities marked the rebuilding of the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater with a gala concert on the building’s new main stage Sunday night. Images shared by Russian state media outlets showed the building’s marbled pillars and staircases, and dancers wearing traditional Russian headdresses known as kokoshniks performing.

The original theater was destroyed when it was targeted by a Russian airstrike on March 16, 2022, as Moscow’s forces besieged the city in the weeks after their invasion.

An Associated Press investigation later found evidence that the attack killed about 600 people inside and outside the building — almost double an early estimate from the government.

At the time of the strike, hundreds of civilians had sought refuge in the building after weeks of relentless shelling. The word “children” had been written with paint on the street outside the building, large enough to be seen by both pilots and satellites.

Moscow said that Ukrainian forces demolished the theater, a claim that the AP’s investigation refuted.

Russian forces took control of Mariupol’s city center shortly after the strike. The ruins were bulldozed and any remains were taken to the ever-growing mass graves in and around Mariupol.

Mariupol’s Ukrainian city council, which left the city when it was occupied for Ukrainian-controlled territory, called the rebuilding and the opening of the theater “singing and dancing on bones.”

“The ‘restoration’ of the theater is a cynical attempt to conceal the traces of a war crime and part of an aggressive policy of Russification of the city. The repertoire consists largely of works by Russian writers and playwrights,” the council said in a statement on Telegram.

Guests of honor at Sunday’s opening included Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed head of the partially occupied Donetsk region, and St. Petersburg Gov. Alexander Beglov. Workers from St. Petersburg, which was twinned with Mariupol after Russia took full control of the city in May 2022, aided in the building’s reconstruction.

The Donetsk region, where Mariupol is located, has remained a key battleground throughout the war. Russia illegally annexed it in 2022, though Moscow still doesn’t control all of it. The region’s fate is one of the major sticking points in negotiations to end the war.

The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is a 102-mile railway viaduct in China, connecting two of the country’s largest cities, and is the longest bridge in the world

The world’s longest bridge spans over 100 miles and takes travellers two hours to traverse. The colossal Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is a railway viaduct in China and links two of the nation’s major cities.

Situated between Shanghai and Nanjing, the bridge forms part of the bustling Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway route. Work on the bridge commenced in 2006 and was completed five years later at a staggering cost of $8.5 billion (£6.4billion).

This translates to an approximate expenditure of $51 million (£38.6million) per mile of the route.

Not only is the bridge a national icon, but it was also constructed to safeguard the land beneath it, a region abundant with rivers and rice fields. For most of its length, the renowned bridge runs parallel to China’s Yangtze River.

Due to its proximity to the river, the bridge was designed to mimic its natural curvature, resulting in an unusual shape. The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge also spans the breathtaking waters of Yangcheng lake for just over five miles, reports the Express.

Prior to the bridge’s construction, train journeys between Ningbo and Jiaxing would take four and a half hours. However, thanks to this new architectural marvel, the journey now takes merely two hours, offering passengers spectacular views along the way.

The bridge has now revolutionised travel, making it possible to cover the 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) between Beijing and Shanghai in just 4 hours and 48 minutes. Despite China’s susceptibility to severe weather events, a number of safety measures were incorporated into the bridge during its construction.

Experts have confirmed that the bridge was constructed to the highest anti-seismic standards, ensuring it can withstand earthquakes. Moreover, the viaduct is also designed to endure collisions from the numerous ships that traverse beneath the bridge daily.

Not only has this new transport link significantly boosted the area’s productivity, but it has also become somewhat of a landmark. Thanks to the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge’s status as a record-breaking structure, tourists often seek out the bridge as an attraction.

The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge isn’t the only incredible architectural feat produced by China in recent years.

The world’s highest bridge was recently opened in Guizhou province. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge has slashed journey times from two hours down to just two minutes, according to local state media.

It boasts an incredible deck-to-surface measurement of 625 metres – more than half a kilometre – making it tower above the previous record holder.

Jan. 1 (UPI) — Insurance premiums are set to rise exponentially for Americans who have bought their health care policies through an Affordable Care Act exchange because Congress failed to extend subsidies for them.

Without the extension of the subsidies, people who have bought their health insurance through an ACA exchange will see their premiums increase by roughly 26% on average, with the increases expected to be higher in states that use the federal Healthcare.gov exchange while states that run their own exchanges may see lower increases, The Hill reported.

In 2025, about 24 million Americans bought health insurance through an ACA exchange, which are often referred to as Obamacare, which is the highest number of people who bought policies through the program since it debuted in 2010.

The government shutdown in the fall — which, at 43 days, was the longest in history — was centered around Democrats in the U.S. Senate pushing for an extension of enhanced ACA subsidies that were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to help Americans obtain insurance and care.

In recent weeks, bipartisan plans to extend the subsidies have emerged, including one in the Senate that calls for a three-year extension of the subsidies.

Among the Republicans who support the bipartisan bill are Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who has not specifically commented on extending the subsidies but has said that he is concerned about people whose health insurance costs may increase in the ongoing absence of Congressional action, Fox News reported.

“I think who it’s most disappointing for are the people whose premiums are going to go up by two, three times,” Hawley told reporters this week. “So, it’s not good.”

During the shutdown, Democrat members of Congress pushed for an extension — it was their stated reason for voting against several bills to fund the federal government, causing and extending the shutdown — which Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., promised a vote on in mid-December.

Once the government reopened, the Senate voted on two health care related bills, one from Democrats and the other from Republicans, and both failed on party line votes.

The move opens key assets to private investment and comes as Petroperu faces mounting losses and debt.

Peru’s government has approved an emergency decree allowing private investment in parts of the state-owned oil company Petroperu, as authorities move to stabilise a firm weighed down by mounting losses and debt.

President Jose Jeri announced the decision shortly before the beginning of the new year.

The measure permits the reorganisation of Petroperu into one or more asset units, opening the door to private participation in key operations. That includes those at the flagship Talara refinery, which recently underwent a $6.5bn upgrade.

Beyond the refinery, Petroperu operates or holds concessions for six crude oil blocks with limited production, alongside a nationwide fuel distribution and marketing network.

In a statement, Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines said the decree seeks to “ensure compliance with financial obligations through technical management of its assets, laying the foundation for Petroperu to become a self-sustaining company”.

The ministry said the company’s financial position “is particularly sensitive”, citing accumulated losses of $479m between January and October 2025, as well as debts to suppliers totalling $764m through December.

Those figures come on top of reported losses of $774m in the previous year.

Petroperu’s financial strain has been compounded by debt linked to the Talara refinery modernisation, which ultimately cost double its original estimate and led to the company losing its investment-grade credit rating in 2022.

Since then, the government has repeatedly stepped in to support the firm, providing about $5.3bn in financing between 2022 and 2024.

The company, which is seen as crucial to Peru’s energy security, has also faced environmental scrutiny.

Authorities declared an “environmental emergency” and launched an investigation following an oil spill along a stretch of the country’s northern coastline in 2024, affecting an estimated 47 to 229 hectares (about 116 to 566 acres).

The Petroperu restructuring effort comes amid persistent political instability in Peru. Several presidents have failed to complete full terms in recent years, including Dina Boluarte, who was impeached by Congress in October.

Her successor, Jeri, has struggled to steady leadership at Petroperu, appointing three board chairs in just three months.

The move comes as Peru faces continuing political volatility, economic uncertainty and public pressure for stronger oversight of state institutions.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that while 2025 has given us more than our fair share of horrors, for Janeites — devotees of Jane Austen — it has yielded a yearlong opportunity to celebrate the great author’s 250th birthday.

At one such event on a frosty night in New York City, 150 or so self-proclaimed Austen nerds assembled in the rare book room of the iconic Strand Bookstore to sip Pemberley tea and nibble on scones slathered with strawberry jam while exchanging tidbits about their literary idol. Some of those in attendance, including Strand staff, cosplayed as Regency-era regalia–women in empire-waist gowns, with events director Walker Iverson dreamy in a Mr. Darcy-inspired puffy shirt he’d found on Amazon being sold as part of a pirate costume. Novelists Jennifer Egan, Adelle Waldman and Brandon Taylor then took the stage to collectively ponder Austen’s enduring legacy and duke it out over which of her novels — “Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Mansfield Park,” “Emma,” “Northanger Abbey” or “Persuasion” — should be everyone’s hands-down favorite. Surprisingly, none of the three claimed Austen’s best-known novel, “Pride and Prejudice,” while dark horse candidate “Mansfield Park” — Austen’s far less sparkly, even somber third novel — appeared to win the day. Following their conversation, audience members participated in a lively game of Jane Austen trivia, during which it became clear that all in the room had done their homework. Sample question: In “Northanger Abbey,” whom does Isabella Thorpe have an affair with? A) Frederick Tilney; B) Charles Bingley; or C) Silas Marner? (Read to the end for the answer.)

Authors Adelle Waldman, Brandon Taylor and Jennifer Egan at the Strand Bookstore’s Tea Party in New York City to celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th birthday.

(Vintage Books)

Egan, Waldman and Taylor, along with Sandra Cisneros, Nicola Yoon and Lauren Groff, have each been commissioned by publisher Vintage to write new introductions to the six titles that have been refreshed and reissued. The sold-out gathering at the Strand was one of six tea parties being thrown throughout the country by the publisher to commemorate Austen’s semiquincentennial. Another well-attended get-together was held earlier this month at Culver City’s the Ripped Bodice bookstore, where sugar cookies specially prepared by local baker Nicolette Buenrostro, of Dottie’s House of Sweets, depicted various Austen book covers. And the tea flowed.

Portrait of Jane Austen. Engraving, 1870.

(Getty Images / Universal Images)

The Strand assemblage, a cozy affair held amid shelves of leather-bound first editions in a room that frequently hosts weddings, drew people of all ages, mostly of the female variety. Among the youngest in the crowd was a fifth-grader named Mathilda who recently read “Emma” and has since become its author’s ardent fan. On TikTok, #JaneAusten has amassed over 200 million views, many of them Gen Z and younger, but when asked if that was where Mathilda discovered Austen, she appeared mildly offended by the association and proffered a withering “no.” “I’m not on social media,” she politely announced. After reading Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” she explained, she yearned for more “old-fashioned” stories centering girls and women. There is a dearth of such tales in contemporary literature, in her opinion, whose characters tend to favor boys and men. On a search for another book by a 19th century woman author, a copy of “Emma” on display at a local bookstore caught her eye, and she picked it up. A new Janeite was born.

(S&S/Marysue Rucci Books)

Jane Austen — whom many consider the creator of the modern novel — was born Dec. 16, 1775 in Steventon, England, the seventh of eight children. Her father was the rector of two parishes and ran a small boys’ school to supplement the family’s meager income. Austen’s formal education ended at age 11, but the family culture was “distinctly literary,” according to Rebecca Romney, author of “Jane Austen’s Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector’s Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend.” Romney writes that the Austens “were a genteel family — upper-class but not titled.” The family often read and reread books aloud together, among them Frances Burney’s “Evelina,” whose work was to have an enormous influence on Austen’s own writing, as would such unsung literary predecessors as Ann Radcliffe, Charlotte Lennox, Maria Edgeworth and others whose work has largely disappeared from modern shelves and was historically dismissed by critics.

Austen couldn’t afford to buy many books herself, but she had access to local “circulating libraries” and belonged to a local book club whose members split the cost of a book and shared it among themselves. The Austen family also enjoyed theater, and staged and even wrote many plays together at home. In fact, according to Romney, most of the family wrote, whether poetry, sermons, plays, or fiction.

Austen began writing as a child, and her “juvenilia,” reports Romney, “show a delight in parody,” a characteristic that would inform her later work. During her lifetime — Austen died at age 41 — she published four of her novels, all anonymously, as social conventions of the time discouraged women of a certain class from earning money through trade or in any way seeking notoriety. She had great confidence in her own literary voice, though. Romney recounts that, for example, when someone recommended she write a historical novel, she responded, “No, I must keep to my own style and go in my own way.” After her death, her brother Henry saw to it that her two remaining novels, “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion,” were published under her name, and an accompanying biographical note explicitly named her as author of all six works of fiction that had previously been credited: “By a Lady.”

Author Rebecca Romney

(Donnamaria R. Jones)

More than 200 years later, not only do Austen’s novels still resonate, they are an industry unto themselves, inspiring hundreds of adaptations across genres, including the 2025 PBS series “Miss Austen,” which centers on Jane’s sister and confidante, Cassandra, and a new film version of “Sense and Sensibility,” starring Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor and Esme Creed-Miles as Marianne, set for release in September 2026. There have even been Austen-inspired online role-playing games such as the now-defunct “Ever, Jane,” as well as a 2D platformer game in which Austen uses a quill to fight off villains based on characters from her various novels. And for horror-loving Austen fans, there’s always “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” a 2009 mash-up novel by Seth Grahame-Smith featuring a fictional zombie plague set in the Regency era.

What accounts for Jane Austen’s continuing relevance? Some attribute it to Austen’s role in ushering in the rom-com, and perfecting the “marriage plot” in her courtship novels. She is a brilliant wordsmith, who had a transformative effect in literature by shifting the focus inward using indirect discourse to combine a character’s inner thoughts with the narrator’s voice. The psychological complexity she achieved paved the way for such future writers as Virginia Woolf, George Eliot and James Joyce.

Despite being of the 18th century, Austen’s heroines are singular for how they grapple with who they are, and with a growing awareness of how they feel, as opposed to what others are telling them to feel — which resonates greatly with contemporary readers. Romney explains it this way: “Austen novels encourage reading and rereading, as well as contemplation. She makes ordinary women feel extraordinary, that we are the main characters of our own story. She formalizes that and gives us a reason to believe it.”

As 2025 closes out, there is at least one prediction that can be safely made: Our romance with Jane Austen shows no signs of waning.

(Answer: Frederick Tilney)

Haber is a writer, editor and publishing strategist. She was director of Oprah’s Book Club and books editor for O, the Oprah Magazine.

Jan. 1 (UPI) — The Italian government said Thursday that the United States has pulled back on tariffs the Trump administration had placed on several pasta brands based in Italy.

The U.S. Department of Commerce reduced tariffs on 13 Italian pasta brands, rolling back levies that had been announced as the administration alleged that the companies had been trying to undercut U.S. manufacturers, CBS News and The Financial Times reported.

The tariffs, which were originally announced as 92% on brands that include Barilla, La Molisana and Pastificio Lucio Garofalo, would have nearly doubled their cost.

With the rollbacks, the brands will only carry a 2% to 14% tariff: La Molisana will see a 2.26% tariff, Garofalo will see a 13.98% tariff and the other 11 companies will face a 9.09% tariff.

After a preliminary review of the companies’ operations revealed that they had not been trying to undercut the price of U.S. manufactured pasta.

“The recalculation of the duties is a sign that U.S. authorities recognize our companies’ constructive willingness to cooperate,” the Italian foreign ministry said of the shift.

According to a business association in Italy, the tariffs would have affected about half of the pasta that is typically shipped to the United States.

In 2024, roughly $788 million of pasta was imported from Italy to the United States.

Over the course of 2025, the Trump administration introduced high tariffs on a wide range of products — from food and clothes to furniture and kitchen cabinets — but many have been rolled back or canceled as officials have negotiated with other countries’ officials or, such as in the case of Italian pasta, consumers were primed to see significantly increased costs.