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TATE McRae has been spotted on a cozy date with NHL star Jack Hughes hours after attending his hockey game.

The couple sparked rumors they might have struck up a romance after Tate, 22, supported Jack, 24, from the stands at the New Jersey Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres game in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday.

Several photos and videos circulated on social media, showing Tate at the game, leading many to wonder if she was there to cheer on Jack, who returned to the ice after an over-a-month-long recovery from a hand injury.

Further fueling chatter of a possible romance, the pair were seen taking a stroll on Monday in New York City.

Photos obtained by The U.S. Sun show the pop star rocking baggy blue jeans, a navy blue shirt, and a long black trench coat for the chilly outing.

She kept the look casual, accessorizing with white sneakers, a small tan handbag, and a yellow baseball cap while carrying a small coffee cup.

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Ariana Grande’s brother slammed for reaction to Tate McRae’s VMAs performance

Jack wore blue pants, a tan sweater, and a dark blue jacket, paired with white sneakers and a navy baseball cap.

His right hand was in a cast, seemingly due to the hand injury he endured off the ice last month.

They each appeared to be enjoying the other’s company as they smiled and laughed throughout the walk.

Tate most recently dated Australian rapper The Kid LAROI, who is widely believed to be the subject behind her new track, Tit for Tat.

The former couple broke up in July, but it wasn’t until her Rolling Stone cover story earlier this month that Tate confirmed their split.

Tate admitted that “it was really scary and overwhelming” at first to write and release the track about her relationship.

“I would never talk that way, even about my friends’ lives. I didn’t realize how much it would affect me, the public knowing my private life—because no one knows the full story of anything, ever,” the Canadian singer said, adding that the media coverage about their breakup made the heartbreak even harder to bear.

“I also hate people painting a situation that’s worse than it is.”

Tate also shared that she expects songs will be written about her, just like she writes about her experiences, because that’s often how artists process their emotions.

“What I’ve had to realize is that he’s going to write songs and I’m going to write songs, and that’s our way of expressing ourselves,” the So You Think You Can Dance alum explained.

“That’s our art, that’s our job. And once it’s out there, it’s not mine anymore.”

Tit for Tat is rumored to be in response to The Kid LAROI’s song A COLD PLAY, which seemingly details their split, although he hasn’t explicitly confirmed the speculation.

These are the key developments from day 1,398 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Tuesday, December 23:

Fighting

• A car bomb killed Russian Lieutenant General ⁠Fanil Sarvarov in southern Moscow, the third such killing of a senior Russian military officer in just more than a year. Russian investors pointed the finger at Ukraine. Kyiv has not commented on the incident.
• Russian forces struck Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa late on Monday, damaging port facilities and a ship in the second such attack on the region in less than 24 hours, according to Ukrainian officials.
• Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said on the Telegram app that the latest attack on Odesa is part of Russia’s attempt “to disrupt maritime logistics by launching systematic attacks on port and energy infrastructure”.
• Kuleba said the attack also caused damage to energy infrastructure, disrupting electricity supply to more than 120,000 customers in the Odesa region. One person was hurt in the attack, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed media reports that residents of Hrabovske village, straddling the border with Russia in Ukraine’s Sumy region and home to 52 people, were taken by Russian troops. Zelenskyy said that 13 Ukrainian servicemen were among those taken.
• Ukraine’s military said it hit a Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in Russia’s Krasnodar region in an overnight attack, causing explosions and a fire. The Ukrainian General Staff said the oil terminal was part of Russia’s energy infrastructure that supported the financing and logistics of Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.
• A Ukrainian drone attack also damaged two vessels in the same region. All crew on the ships at the Volna terminal have been safely evacuated, according to regional authorities.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it had captured Vilcha village in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region. The claim could not be immediately verified.

Politics and diplomacy

• US President Donald Trump said that talks to end the war in Ukraine are going “OK”, amid questions about their progress, with Moscow and Kyiv still far apart on some key matters.
• Zelenskyy, meanwhile, described the negotiations in Miami as “very close to a real result”. He also told a gathering of Ukrainian diplomats that the peace process “all looks quite worthy”, even as he conceded that “not everything is ideal with this, but the plan is there”.
• Separately, in his nightly video address to the nation, Zelenskyy said the key issue in the talks was to determine whether the US was able to “get a response from Russia; real readiness on the part of that country to focus on something other than aggression”. He said that continued pressure on the Kremlin was vital to reduce Moscow’s capacity to wage war.
• The Kremlin said talks between Russia and the US in Miami on ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine should not be seen as a breakthrough. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Izvestia news outlet that the discussions were expected to continue in a “meticulous” expert-level format.
• Peskov also questioned the reliability of the sources cited in a Reuters news agency report, which said that the US intelligence community believes Putin wants to seize all of Ukraine and reclaim parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet bloc. Peskov told reporters in Moscow that if the report was accurate, then the US’s intelligence conclusions were wrong.
• Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov declared that Moscow is ready to confirm in a legal agreement that it has no intention of attacking either the European Union or the US-led NATO military alliance, the state RIA news agency reported.

Military aid

• The Czech Republic’s National Security Council will debate the future of a Czech-led, Western-financed scheme organising artillery ammunition supplies for Ukraine on January 7, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said. The scheme also brings together foreign donors, including Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Regional security

• Swedish customs released the Russian ship Adler, which it boarded over the weekend to perform an inspection, with marine tracking data showing the vessel was on the move again. Swedish customs declined to say what cargo the Adler had been carrying. The Adler is under EU sanctions, while the vessel and its owners, M Leasing LLC, are both subject to US sanctions, suspected of involvement in weapons transport.

From slaving away in a steamy kitchen, to entertaining endless family members – it’s fair to say Christmas can be pretty relentless for many parents. 

These women, however, say they’ve found the perfect solution: swapping home for a Butlin’s mini-break over the festive period. And it costs A LOT less than you might imagine.

‘Going to Butlin’s guarantees Christmas will be extra special for the kids’

TEACHER Kim Heath’s lucky kids have holidayed around the globe, but their favourite place to go is down-to-earth Butlins.

Kim, 36, has enjoyed Christmas Day with a difference at the traditional UK holiday camp for the past few years – and her youngsters wouldn’t have it any other way. 

She celebrates the occasion with husband Graham, 38, kids Olivia-Belle, nine, and Grayson, four, and members of their extended families. 

Kim told The Sun: “Olivia-Belle has been to places like Dubai, Sydney and the Caribbean and we’ve even been to Lapland.

“But she loves Butlin’s because the family are together and everyone’s going to be having fun.”

Butlins was once a top holiday destination for UK families but it’s fair to say its reputation has ebbed and flowed in more recent years. 

Kim added: “A lot of our friends say they can’t believe we go to Butlin’s but if you’ve got kids and want to make sure they have an extra special Christmas, it’s magical.

“You can do as much or as little as you like, you can even go swimming on Christmas Day.

“It’s just a really nice place to be.”

The family from Caerphilly, South Wales, are able to save money on the annual festive break thanks to Kim’s father-in-law, who owns an eight-berth caravan at Butlin’s Minehead, Somerset. 

She said: “Nowadays, just going to the local farm to meet Santa with the kids can cost £70 whereas at Butlins it’s all included in the site fee, and we’re lucky enough to have the caravan to sleep in.

“My house isn’t big enough for everybody, you’d have to try and squeeze everybody in but this way no-one has to be on their own on Christmas night.

“My mum’s friend stayed with us last year and we’ve met up with other family and friends who are staying separately too.”

Last year, Kim and relatives enjoyed a Christmas Eve visit to Santa’s Grotto at the resort and there’s usually a pantomime on offer on the big day itself. 

She said: “On Christmas Day, we open presents and then we dive into the activities.

“Everybody’s in a really good mood and everything is open on Christmas Day so you’ll never hear your children say they’re bored.” 

When it comes to the big Christmas Dinner, that comes in buffet form.

“Nobody’s really expected to cook,” explained the Butlin’s fan, who lives two and a half hours away from her favourite coastal resort. 

“There is no pressure, there’s no one person at home spending the day cooking in the kitchen.

“We’ve travelled around the world, but Butlin’s is so easy – it’s all planned out for you and the children have big smiles on their faces. 

“We’ve always had a really lovely time.” 

Butlin’s Minehead opened in 1962 and is the largest of the holiday park’s resorts, accommodating up to 7,500 guests in its chalets and apartments. 

Facilities on offer include an amusement park and vintage fairground. 

Until earlier this month, four-night stays were still available at Minehead Butlin’s from £199.

“The parks really go to town at Christmas”

The first of the chain’s parks to open in 1936 was Butlin’s Skegness, where mum-of-two Anita Workman, her software engineer husband Dave, and their kids Grant, seven, and Iris, five, have enjoyed Christmas Day. 

The family makes the three-hour journey to Butlins Skegness multiple times a year, with Anita finding the resort has extra sparkle during the festive season. 

“Butlins is our happy place,” said the stay-at-home mum. 

“Your children are only children for a short time, especially when it comes to the magic of Christmas. 

“They have the best time of their lives when we go.”

They first made the decision to spend Christmas Day at Butlin’s a few years ago, after Anita’s mother-in-law sadly passed away.

Unable to face an empty seat at their Christmas Dinner table, the family from Bolton, Lancs, opted for their favourite holiday destination instead.

“We had only ever done home Christmases before and we decided to shake things up because it would have been really obvious Dave’s mum wasn’t there,” she says. 

“Looking back, it provided more than that. 

“The kids loved all the shows. I took them to a local pantomime once, and they were disappointed because it didn’t compare to the Butlins one.

“We loved the fireworks on Christmas Eve too.”

The family enjoyed Christmas Dinner in the site’s main restaurant, which is served buffet style and offers turkey and all the trimmings, plus much more besides.

She said: “If you want to have a traditional dinner on the big day, it’s going to be there but if you fancy something random, that’ll probably be there too.

“Fussy kids can enjoy pizza, chicken nuggets or fish fingers.

“There are crackers on the tables, with Christmas hats to wear. They really go to town.”

Less traditionally, the family’s Christmas Day at Butlin’s was also filled with shows, swimming and fairground rides. 

The Workmans opt for premium dining and accommodation when they stay at the park and Anita appreciates the special effort the famous Butlin’s Redcoats make with her children – particularly with Grant, who has autism. 

Known for their distinctive red jackets, the frontline staff’s main roles are to host families and provide entertainment. 

Magician Stephen Mulhern, the late Des O’Connor and Ian ‘H’ Watkins of Steps fame are among the celebrities who launched their career in showbiz working as a Redcoat. 

She said: “The Redcoats can’t be underestimated, they are awesome.

“We like to get into a venue early for a show and they will come and sit and play card games with the kids to entertain them.

“It sounds like something so minor, but it can mean so much to them.”

Up until earlier this month, four-night deals were still available at Butlin’s Skegness from £195.

PA Media

South Wales Police

‘Huge spike’ in calls for support

These are the key developments from day 1,397 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Monday, December 22:

Fighting

• A Russian attack on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region killed a 49-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. The killings took place in the village of Izyum.
• Russian attacks also killed one person in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, and one person in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, local officials reported.
• Russian forces have shelled the Zaporizhia region nearly 5,000 times over the past week, wounding 60 people and damaging hundreds of buildings, according to Governor Ivan Fedorov.
• Overall, Russian forces have launched about 1,300 drones, nearly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and nine missiles towards Ukraine over the past week, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• Ukraine’s ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, accused Russian forces of “illegally” detaining about 50 residents of the village of Hrabovske in the Sumy region and “forcibly deporting” them to Russian territory.
• The Kyiv Independent, citing Ukrainian authorities, reported that wreckage from a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia damaged a pipeline in the Krasnodar Krai region.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces shot down 29 Ukrainian drones in the past 24-hour period.
• The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that Russian forces shot down 252 drones over the Russian-occupied Donbas region, using the “Donbas Dome electronic warfare system” over the past week, the TASS news agency reported.

Politics and diplomacy

• US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with a Ukrainian delegation, led by senior official Rustem Umerov and European officials, as the US continued to host talks in Miami, Florida, on a prospective peace deal for Russia’s war on Ukraine for a third day on Sunday.
• Witkoff said in a post on X late on Sunday that the talks with the Ukrainians and Europeans had been “productive and constructive” and focused on a “shared strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States and Europe”.
• In a second post about two hours later, Witkoff said that the US had also had “productive and constructive meetings” with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev over the past two days.
• “Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine [and] highly values the efforts and support of the United States to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and re-establish global security,” Witkoff said.
• Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, said that changes made by European countries and Ukraine to the US’s proposals for an end to Russia’s war did not improve prospects for peace.
• “I am sure that the proposals that the Europeans and Ukrainians have made or are trying to make definitely do not improve the document and do not improve the possibility of achieving long-term peace,” Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian president was ready to talk with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, after the latter said Europe should reach out to Moscow to end the war.
• Macron’s office welcomed the Russian statement, saying: “It is welcome that the Kremlin has publicly agreed to this approach. We will decide in the coming days on the best way to proceed.”
• India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that “202 Indian nationals are believed to have been recruited into the Russian armed forces” during Russia’s war on Ukraine. It said Russian authorities had reported that 26 had been killed and seven were missing.
• Sweden’s customs service said on Sunday that Swedish authorities boarded a Russian freighter that anchored in Swedish waters on Friday after developing engine problems, to inspect the cargo. The owners of the vessel, the Adler, are on the European Union’s sanctions list, Martin Hoglund, spokesman at the customs authority, said.
• “Shortly after 0100 last night [00:00 GMT] we boarded the ship with support from the Swedish Coast Guard and the police service in order to make a customs inspection,” Hoglund said. “The inspection is still ongoing.”

Dec. 21 (UPI) — Seven days after a mass shooting devastated Bondi Beach, Australians gathered on Sunday for a national day of reflection.

The commemorations come as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faces intense public scrutiny and has ordered an urgent investigation into the nation’s intelligence and police frameworks.

The tragedy, which claimed 15 lives during a Hanukkah seaside event, is the deadliest mass shooting Australia has seen in nearly three decades.

Authorities have officially classified the massacre — which killed a 10-year-old girl, a British rabbi and a Holocaust survivor, among others — as a terrorist act aimed at the Jewish community.

As the clock struck 6:47 p.m., marking the exact moment the first shots rang out the previous Sunday, a minute of silence was observed. Mourners at Bondi Beach and across the country stood in unison to honor the fallen, according to the BBC.

The atmosphere in Sydney was one of high alert, NBC News reported, with a massive security detail involving rooftop snipers and water patrols.

The Sydney Opera House also paid tribute, illuminating its iconic sails with candle projections to mark the day of mourning.

Despite the somber occasion, Albanese met a hostile reception, NBC News reported. Sections of the crowd booed the prime minister upon his arrival, a sign of the growing friction between the government and the grieving Jewish community.

The BBC also reported that one protester shouted, “Blood on your hands,” while security personnel had to intercept an individual attempting to approach the prime minister.

In an acknowledgment of the criticism, Albanese said during the observation that he accepts his share of responsibility as the nation’s leader.

Addressing the crowd, David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, delivered a eulogy.

“Like the grass here at Bondi was stained with blood, so, too, has our nation been stained,” Ossip said, per NBC News. “We have landed up in a dark place.”

Ossip also shared a message of resilience from Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian shop owner who was injured while heroically disarming one of the gunmen.

From his hospital bed, al-Ahmed’s message to the mourners was, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted. Today I stand with you, my brothers and sisters.”

Unlike Albanese, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns was met with applause, the BBC reported.

Minns offered a blunt apology for the state’s inability to prevent the shooting, stating, “The government’s highest duty is to protect its citizens. And we did not do that one week ago.”

He further warned that the tragedy exposed a “deep vein of antisemitic hate” that the country must now confront.

After the ceremony, the federal government pivoted toward legislative action.

Albanese announced a comprehensive review of federal intelligence and law enforcement to determine if current powers are sufficient for the modern security landscape. He characterized the “ISIS-inspired” attack as proof of a shifting threat environment.

Additionally, the government has committed to a massive national gun buyback initiative, the scale of which has not been seen since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.

A worried mother working miles away from her family frantically tries to get her three children out of harm’s way as an out of control fire ravages their community. Firefighters do everything they can, but strong winds are working against them to make the destruction go from bad to worse.

This scenario is reminiscent of the heroics that are portrayed weekly on the CBS firefighter television drama “Fire Country,” which follows the dedicated Cal Fire station in Northern California where an abundance of wooded areas make fire a common hazard. However, this particular story is very real and comes from actor Diane Farr, who plays Cal Fire Division Chief Sharon Leone and mother to firefighter Bode Leone (Max Thieriot, also a co-creator and executive producer) on the series. Farr remembers how in January she was on the show’s set in Vancouver while the wildfires were wreaking havoc in Los Angeles.

“My house was inside the evacuation order and I had to start flying my children out as fast as I could from L.A.,” she says of her La Cañada Flintridge home, which survived. “We were evacuated for eight days and the wind just went toward Altadena as opposed to coming toward our house. It was terrifying and was very eye opening for us.”

The horrific Los Angeles fires were eventually contained after catastrophic damage to the city, with some heroic firefighters leaving with jarring stories they were able to share with the “Fire Country” cast and crew. “Two of our consultants are L.A. firefighters, Matty and Marty Mullen, who had shown me a lot of videos of real firefighting of what was going on in L.A. that we were able to infuse into our [Season 3] finale,” says executive producer Tia Napolitano. “It felt important that we could show real authenticity inspired by the L.A. fires that we all lived through. I can’t believe it’s only been a year.”

Diane Farr as Sharon Leone in “Fire Country.” The actor’s home was in the evacuation zone during the L.A. wildfires in January.

(Sergei Bachlakov / CBS)

That dedication to authenticity has helped “Fire Country” become one of the sturdiest series on CBS’ prime-time schedule since premiering October 2022. Currently in its fourth season, “Fire Country” has won its time slot every week this season except when it aired against Game 6 of the World Series. It is now the veteran drama on Friday nights sandwiched between two new successful procedurals, “Sheriff Country” starring Morena Baccarin at 8 p.m. and “Boston Blue” starring Donnie Wahlberg at 10 p.m. Pacific, both spinoffs that have quickly caught the attention of audiences since their October debuts.

Farr believes the success of these shows is akin to the huge popularity of genres like true crime and their basic storytelling structure. “There is a good guy and a bad guy that’s very clear and very binary,” she says. “If you can create a situation that feels a little bit unsafe, if you can show me how people would make me safe in it, how they would solve the problem, it’s slightly relieving on a nervous system level.”

“Fire Country” delivers on all those components with the Station 42 crew performing regular acts of heroism as they keep their community safe, a reflection of real-life firefighters, says Thieriot. “People who have to do this job day in and day out are really a special breed. For me, a big thing has always been trying to capture that and trying to portray that the best way possible,” he says. “It’s television, so obviously there are more moments when we’re trying to find the drama, but at the end of the day, it’s really important that we focus on the real and we find the real in there.”

Eve (Jules Latimer) and Bode (Max Thieriot) in “Fire Country.” “People who have to do this job day in and day out are really a special breed. For me, a big thing has always been trying to capture that and trying to portray that the best way possible,” Thieriot says. (Sergei Bachlakov/CBS)

Part of the real comes in knowing that where there are heroes, there are also villains and, as its midseason finale is set to air on Friday, “Fire Country” currently has a frightening one in the form of Landon (Josh McDermitt). Initially seen as meek and even-tempered, the layers have been pulled back to show something different.

“Landon is a threat to our people and that’ll go forward for a few episodes,” teases Napolitano. “You feel like this guy is out there and he has nothing to lose.”

That’s because Landon has already lost the trust of his girlfriend Chloe (Alona Tal) and her teenage son Tyler (Conor Sherry), who recently revealed to Bode that Landon set the tragic Zabel Ridge Fire. That’s the L.A.-inspired blaze from the third-season finale that not only destroyed homes and land but also took the life of Cal Fire battalion chief Vince Leone (Billy Burke), Sharon’s husband and Bode’s father.

In Friday’s episode, a vengeful Landon isn’t happy about being investigated or the fact that Bode and Sharon have made sure that Chloe and Tyler are staying away from him. “Landon’s a small man with a very big ego and a big victim complex and that’s going to manifest in a scary way,” Napolitano says.

It also may not help matters that Chloe and Bode were once romantically involved and a spark may still exist, especially since Bode has been mentoring the troubled Tyler. Is the single Bode’s heart open to a second chance at love? “He’s getting there,” says Thieriot. “Leading up to this season, Bode had so many obstacles and I think this journey with Tyler [as mentor] is a big part of that.”

Bode (Max Thieriot) and Chloe (Alona Tal) were once romantically involved. (Sergei Bachlakov/CBS)

Hearts are also healing on the show in the aftermath of Vince’s shocking death, an event that was never in the show’s plan to quickly sweep under the rug. “We really want to be the show that everyone knows and loves, which is a comfort to a lot of our viewers,” says Napolitano. “It’s a show of joy and levity but also honors the fact that we are missing a core character who did die a hero’s death and honoring him by keeping his memory alive.”

That memory exists for Farr in several rings she regularly wears representing Sharon’s marriage and family with Vince, but she added another piece this season based on a suggestion from director Sarah Wayne Callies.

“Vince’s bracelet is heavy and regularly bumps the smaller bones in my hand,” Farr says. “Just like my former scene partner Billy, who would debate any word or line or blocking or intention with me to get to the truest take on anything we did together. Losing him is always going to be loss.” Farr said she doesn’t want to play grief forever but upcoming episodes will continue to show Sharon “trying to figure out who she is as a ‘one’ instead of a ‘two.’”

Though everyone hopes Los Angeles won’t see more fires like the ones from nearly a year ago, “Fire Country’s” creators and cast will continue to shine a light on firefighters and all the life-and-death work they do on a daily basis and, above all else, entertain.

“It’s not always easy to continue to surprise the audience and come up with this stuff that’s just really captivating and fresh and new but I believe that we can,” Thieriot says. “I’m really eager to accomplish that.”

Emmerdale fans have a lot to look forward to on the ITV soap this Christmas – and this is when they can tune in as all the drama unfolds over the festive period

Emmerdale fans are looking forward to tuning in on Christmas Day – and it’s looking like quite a dramatic time during the festive time on the farm. Viewers of the long-running ITV soap, which first aired in 1972, would expect nothing less from the programme but it’s already been quite the year for the residents of the Yorkshire-based village.

This Christmas, there’s concern for Robron as a threat looms for newly reunited Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden. When news of a possible return is shared not everyone is immediately happy about it, sparking a new feud. Ross Barton is blindsided when he finds out Aaron and Robert are planning to bring Robert’s son Seb back into their lives. Ross was Seb’s stepfather and helped raise him, until Seb’s mother Rebecca White sadly passed away.

What’s more, someone will be showing lurking in the shadows with intent and their reign of terror is only just getting started. When the trees outside his flat are set alight, Aaron once again blames Ross, only for Robert to uncover who the real culprit is. Will he be able to stop them? As Christmas Day arrives Aaron is puzzled when Robert heads off on a mystery errand. Soon there’s serious concern when he doesn’t return – so what has happened to Robert?

READ MORE: Emmerdale Christmas spoilers: Return sealed, escape plan and Robert ‘missing’READ MORE: Emmerdale fans ‘rumble’ who is set to expose Celia after shock confrontation

What time is Emmerdale on Christmas Day? What happens?

But when exactly will fans be able to catch all the Yuletide drama? Traditionally, the soap airs weeknights at 7:30pm in a half-hour slot, often just before Coronation Street. Eager fans can also watch the latest instalment from 7am on the day of broadcast by logging onto ITVX.

However, on Thursday 25th December, the festive special of Emmerdale will air at the significantly earlier time of 6:15pm. Prior to that, the programme will hit screens at 6:55pm on Christmas Eve and once the big day is all over, the soap air again at 6:30pm on Boxing Day.

Emmerdale will then resume its ordinary slot in the days after Christmas, and conclude the festive period with an hour-long special on New Year’s Day.

There’s lots more for fans of Emmerdale to look forward to this Christmas, as evil mother-and-son duo Celia Daniels and Ray Walters are fearing the game is up and they may need to flee, amid their shocking drug schemes being exposed. But with Ray growing closer to Laurel Thomas, could he dare to dream of starting things afresh away from his evil mum?

Kim Tate’s recent near-death experience leaves her pushing people away, and soon Joe Tate is furious by a confession from Lydia Dingle. Joe returns to Home Farm to patch things up with Kim but she sends him packing.

But when she falls and hurts herself, she calls for help only for Lydia to arrive and help her. Kim immediately dismisses her, and she’s soon facing Christmas alone.

Wrapping up Christmas, there’s a public marriage proposal happens, Paddy is missing his father Bear as he remains on Celia’s farm, and Vanessa and Charity are strong-armed into spending Christmas Day together. When Vanessa gets drunk, Charity fears the beans will be spilled as a threat looms.

The entire festive schedule for the ITV soap is as follows: :

Monday December 22 – 7.30pm (30 minutes)Tuesday December 23 -7pm (30 minutes)Wednesday December 24 (Christmas Eve) – 6:55pm (30 minutes)Thursday December 25 (Christmas Day)- 6:15pm (One hour)Friday December 26 (Boxing Day) – 6:30pm (30 minutes) Monday December 29 – 7:30pm Tuesday December 30 – 7:30pmWednesday December 31 – 7:30pmThursday January 1 (New Year’s Day) 7pm (One hour)Friday January 2 – 7:30pm

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Christmas Day

Felixstowe, Suffolk
A proper community affair, with hundreds of participants resplendent in festive finery racing into the North Sea at 10am sharp while much of the town gathers along the promenade to watch. The event raises funds for St Elizabeth Hospice, and every year brings new tales of heroics and even romance (there’s been the odd mid-plunge proposal). The atmosphere is as heartwarming as the water is not. Afterwards warm up with a stroll around town, with its four-mile promenade and seafront gardens.
10am, £16, stelizabethhospice.org.uk

Penarth and Porthcawl

The Dawnstalkers meet daily to greet the sunrise with a swim beside Penarth pier, three miles south of Cardiff city centre – and Christmas morning is no exception. Anyone can join this inclusive sea-swimming collective. A wood-fired barrel sauna will be parked on the prom from 21–29 December, offering a toasty post-dip reward. The Christmas swim at Porthcawl (25 miles west along the coast) began in 1965, when local swimming legend Arlon Owens, dressed as a clown, was pushed off the pier by another dipper dressed as Father Christmas. More than a thousand swimmers – many still in fancy dress – take the plunge, raising thousands for local charities.
Penarth: 8am, free, dawnstalkers.com. Porthcawl: 11.15am (enter water at 11.45am), suggested donation £10, christmasswim.org

Peter Pan Cup, the Serpentine, Hyde Park, London

One of the UK’s oldest festive swims, the Serpentine Swimming Club’s Christmas Day race has been held in Hyde Park every Christmas morning since 1864. The event was later named for JM Barrie, who donated the first trophy in 1904. This short but speedy 100-yard race is open only to members, but spectators are encouraged to gather along the lakeside to cheer on the swimmers.
9am, serpentineswimmingclub.com

Weymouth, Dorset

Started in 1948, when pub landlord Dill Laker and taxi driver Reggie Bugler made a boozy bet to swim the harbour after Christmas Eve drinks, Weymouth has grown into one of the UK’s biggest and best-loved festive plunges. Hundreds of swimmers splash 70 metres across the harbour, cheered on by thousands of spectators, raising funds for a local disability charity. The harbour itself is pretty, but make time to stroll the huge sandy beach too, backed by colourful beach huts.
From 9.30am, £15, love-weymouth.co.uk

Hunstanton, Norfolk
One of Norfolk’s largest festive events, the swim has been running for more than 60 years. Taking place just off the town’s central promenade, it’s organised by the Hunstanton and District Round Table and supports local charities. Lots of prizes and free hot soup to warm up after.
11am (register from 10am), free, hunstantonroundtable.com

Bude, Cornwall

This legendary swim has been organised by the Bude Surf Life Saving Club at Crooklets beach for over half a century. Thousands gather to watch as swimmers – many in Santa suits – dash into the Atlantic for a short but spirited dip. It’s all for a good cause, raising funds for the life-saving club that keeps the local beaches safe year-round.
10.45am, free (donations welcome), visitbude.info

Boxing Day

Folkestone, Kent
This event brings hundreds of swimmers to Sunny Sands, cheered on by a boisterous crowd. Organised by the Folkestone, Hythe & District Lions Club, it raises funds for the Lions and other local charities. There are prizes for fancy dress and the youngest and oldest dippers.
11.30am (register from 9.30am), £10, free with sponsorship, folkestonelions.org.uk

Seaton Carew, County Durham
The North Sea isn’t exactly a welcoming proposition for a swimmer at this time of year, but that doesn’t deter hundreds from joining Hartlepool Round Table’s Boxing Day Dip. A parade sets off from the Marine Hotel on the seafront at Seaton Crew, just outside Hartlepool, before the plunge. Bacon butties and beer are available back at base afterwards.
11.30am, £5, hartlepoolroundtable.co.uk

Paignton, Devon

A Boxing Day classic, with hundreds of swimmers, many in fancy dress, gathering on Paignton Sands for the local Lions Club’s Walk into the Sea. There’s a fancy-dress competition at 11.45am before the mass dip at noon. A great way to shake off Christmas Day indulgence in this lively English Riviera town.
12pm, £10, englishriviera.co.uk

St Ives, Cornwall

Blow away the Christmas Day cobwebs with this relaxed dip on golden Porthminster beach. Wetsuits are allowed, fancy dress is encouraged and even dogs can join in. Porthminster Café keeps post-swim spirits high with hot chocolates and bacon butties. St Ives is particularly pretty in winter and the narrow cobbled streets make for pleasant festive wandering.
12pm, free, £1 donation suggested, no website

Ventnor, Isle of Wight
Once a smugglers’ haunt, Ventnor Bay now welcomes hundreds of swimmers dressed in pyjamas, tutus and rubber rings for this swim on the Esplanade. The event raises funds for local cancer charities and for Ventnor Carnival. Post swim, mulled wine and doorstop sandwiches await brave bathers at the Spyglass Inn.
12pm, free, donation suggested, on Facebook

Fraserburgh Harbour, Aberdeenshire
Few causes are closer to sea swimmers’ hearts than the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Association). The 17th annual 52-metre harbour swim will raise funds for Fraserburgh lifeboat station, with participants diving in from the side of a lifeboat and swimming across the icy water, cheered on by the whole town.
1pm, free, donation suggested, rnli.org

New Year’s Day

Salford Quays, Manchester

No seaside? No problem. Manchester swimmers can head to Dock 9 at MediaCity, a 2002 Commonwealth Games venue that hosts a New Year’s dip in 7C waters. This “big, bold and mighty cold” event, run by Uswim, raises lots of cash for local charities. With the Lowry theatre as a backdrop, three waves of swimmers enter the water at 15-minute intervals. A best-dressed hat competition adds to the fun.
11am, £25, uswimopenwater.com

Keswick, Lake District
Cumbria’s hardiest wild swimmers take to Derwentwater in fancy dress to raise funds for the Calvert Trust, which helps people with disabilities experience the outdoors. Afterwards there will be lakeside hot chocolate and cake.
11am, free, £5 donation suggested, calvertlakes.org.uk

Bangor, County Down
Swimmers plunge into Bangor’s Ballyholme Bay in fancy dress to raise funds for Cancer Focus Northern Ireland. There are prizes to be won, hot drinks and proper facilities – but no guarantee of feeling your toes afterwards. Ballyholme Yacht Club also organises a Boxing Day swim in aid of the RNLI (£5 entry) if you fancy a double whammy.
12pm, £15, cancerfocusni.org

Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire
This is one of the UK’s larger New Year’s Day swims – there were 2,535 registrations on 1 January 2025. It turns 40 in 2026, with a ruby theme promising a sea of vermilion-clad dippers and plenty of sparkle in the sea.
12.30pm, £5 (£3 under-16s), saundersfootnyds.co.uk

Lyme Regis, Dorset

The Rotary Club’s Lyme Lunge fills sandy Cobb beach with wigs, wings and inflatable flamingos. Fancy dress is encouraged, fundraising optional, desire to run like a loon into the sea obligatory (though just a quick paddle will suffice). Thousands of spectators flock to the beach and gardens above it to watch the mayhem.
1pm, free, donations welcome

Loony Dook, nr Edinburgh
What began as a “hangover cure” for a few friends in 1986 is now a beloved slice of post-Hogmanay madness. The Loony Dook (dook is Scots for dip) sees hundreds of dressed-up swimmers parade through South Queensferry before plunging into the Firth of Forth.
1.30pm, free

England coach Brendon McCullum says his side haven’t lived up to “high hopes and expectations” after failing to regain The Ashes, but that fans can expect his side to “show what we’re capable of achieving” in the final two Test matches in the series against Australia.

MATCH REPORT: England beaten to lose another Ashes in Australia

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Here is where things stand on Sunday, December 21:

Fighting

• The death toll from a Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s port city of Odesa rose from seven to eight, with at least 30 others wounded, according to Ukrainian authorities.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in Odesa as “harsh” and accused Russia of trying to block Kyiv’s access to the Black Sea.
• The Ukrainian leader also said that he is looking to replace the head of the Southern Air Command, Dmytro Karpenko, over the Russian strikes on Odesa.
• Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said Russian forces also attacked the nearby port of Pivdennyi on Saturday, hitting several reservoirs.
• Ukraine’s military said its special forces carried out a drone attack on a Lukoil oil rig in the Caspian Sea on Friday, along with the Russian military patrol ship Okhotnik. The military also said that the Filanovsky oil rig, which had been targeted twice this month, was damaged in the strike.
• The Ukrainian military also said it destroyed two Russian fighter jets at an airfield in the occupied Crimean peninsula.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces took control of the villages of Svitle and Vysoke, located in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and the northeastern Luhansk region, respectively.

Diplomacy and ceasefire talks

• Zelenskyy said the United States proposed a new format for talks with Russia, comprised of three-way talks at the level of national security advisers from Ukraine, Russia, and the US.
• The Ukrainian leader expressed scepticism that the talks would result in “anything new”, but added that he believes that US-led talks have the best chance of success.
• He added that he would support trilateral discussions if they led to progress in areas such as prisoner swaps or a meeting of national leaders. “If such a ‍meeting could be ⁠held now to allow for swaps of prisoners of war, or if a meeting of national security advisers achieves agreement on a leaders’ meeting… I cannot be opposed. We would support such a US proposal. Let’s see how things go,” he said.
• Zelenskyy also pushed back against calls for Ukraine to hold elections as the war drags on, stating that voting cannot take place in Russian-occupied areas and that security conditions must first improve. “It is not [Russian President Vladimir] Putin who decides when and in what format the elections in Ukraine will take place,” Zelenskyy said.
• Zelenskyy urged European leaders to approve a measure to seize frozen Russian assets and use them to fund Ukraine’s war effort, saying that doing so will strengthen Ukraine’s leverage at the negotiating table. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that Ukraine will need about 137 billion euros ($161bn) in 2026 and 2027, as the demands of the war continue to strain the country’s economy.
• Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev held talks with his US counterpart, Steve Witkoff, and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in the city of Miami.
• “The ‌discussions are proceeding constructively. They began earlier and ‌will continue ⁠today, and will also continue tomorrow,” ‌Dmitriev said
• Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov attended a summit in Cairo, held to advance closer cooperation between Russia and African nations, and attended by more than 50 countries. Lavrov pitched Russia as a “reliable partner” to African countries in areas such as security and national sovereignty.

Weapons

• Ukrainian presidential aide Oleksandr Kamyshin announced a deal with Portugal on the joint production of maritime drones, saying it would help “defend Europe from the sea”.

Relatives of the late President John F Kennedy slammed the centre’s board, saying the name cannot be changed under law.

Donald Trump’s name has been added to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, just one day after his hand-picked board members controversially voted to rename the arts venue, the first time a national institution has been named after a sitting US president.

Workmen added metal lettering to the building’s exterior on Friday that declared, “The Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

“Today, we proudly unveil the updated exterior designation – honoring the leadership of President Donald J Trump and the enduring legacy of John F Kennedy,” the centre said on social media.

Family members of former President Kennedy, who was killed by an assassin’s bullet in 1963, as well as historians and Democratic lawmakers, have criticised the move, saying only an act of Congress could alter the name of the centre, which was designated as a living memorial to Kennedy a year after his assassination.

“The Kennedy Center was named by law. To change the name would require a revision of that 1964 law,” Ray Smock, a former House of Representatives historian, told the Associated Press (AP) news agency. “The Kennedy Center board is not a lawmaking entity. Congress makes laws,” Smock said.

The AP reports that the law naming the centre explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the centre into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.

Kerry Kennedy, a niece of former President Kennedy, said in a post on social media that she will remove Trump’s name herself when his term as president ends.

“Three years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building, but I’m going to need help holding the ladder. Are you in?” she wrote on X.

Naming a national institution after a sitting president is unprecedented in US history. Landmarks such as the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and indeed, the Kennedy Center were all named after the deaths of the renowned US leaders.

Kennedy’s grandnephew, former Congressman Joe Kennedy III, also said the Kennedy Center, like the Lincoln Memorial, was a “living memorial to a fallen president” and cannot be renamed, “no matter what anyone says”.

Trump claimed on Thursday that he was “surprised” by the renaming of the Kennedy Center, even though he personally purged the centre’s previous board after calling it “too woke”.

He has also previously spoken about having his name added to the centre and appointed himself chairman of the centre’s board earlier this year.

Trump has sought to rein in the Kennedy Center since the start of his second term as part of an assault on cultural institutions that his administration has accused of being too left-wing.

Marnus Labuschagne reacts sharply to take a brilliant diving catch at second slip to dismiss Ollie Pope for 17, as England fall to 31-2 on day four of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

FOLLOW LIVE: The Ashes third Test – day four

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These are the key developments from day 1,395 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Saturday, 20 December :

Fighting

• Russian attacks targeting ports in Ukraine’s Odesa killed seven people and wounded 15, Governor Oleh Kiper said in a post on Telegram.
• Kiper described the attack as “massive” and said it involved Russian ballistic missiles, which targeted trucks that caught fire.
• The Kyiv Independent news outlet reported that Odesa city has been suffering from chronic power outages since December 13, due to earlier Russian attacks.
• Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s Dnipro region with artillery shelling and drones, damaging homes, power lines and a gas pipeline, Vladyslav Hayvanenko, acting head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, wrote on Facebook.
• Ukraine has taken back control of almost all of its northern city of Kupiansk after isolating Russian forces and unending Russian claims to have seized the key urban centre.

Aid

• European Union leaders agreed to provide a $105.5bn interest-free loan to Ukraine to meet the country’s military and economic needs for the next two years.
• EU leaders decided ‍to borrow cash on capital markets to fund Ukraine’s defence against Russia, rather than use frozen Russian assets, diplomats said.

Diplomacy

• In his annual “results of the year” speech in Moscow on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for refusing to discuss giving up the Ukrainian Russia has seized, as part of truce negotiations.
• “We know from statements from Zelenskyy that he’s not prepared to discuss territory issues,” Putin said.
• The Russian president also attacked Europe’s handling of frozen Russian assets, labelling plans to use them to fund Ukraine as “robbery”, rather than theft, because it was being done openly.
• “Whatever they stole, they’ll have to give it back someday,” Putin said, pledging to pursue legal action in courts that he described as “independent of political decisions”.

Ceasefire talks

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that progress has been made to end Russia’s war on Ukraine in a year-end address in Washington, DC.
• “I think we’ve made progress, but we have a ways to go, and obviously, the hardest issues are always the last issues,” Rubio told reporters.
• “We don’t see surrender any time in the near future, and only a negotiated settlement can end this war,” Rubio said, adding that any decision about ending the war will be up to Ukraine and Russia, and not the US.
• Top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov, who is in the US for ceasefire discussions, said the US and Kyiv had agreed to continue their joint efforts to reach a ceasefire.
• “We agreed with our American partners on further steps and on continuing our joint work in the near future,” Umerov wrote on Telegram, without providing further details. He added that he had informed Zelenskyy of the outcome of the talks.
• Putin’s special envoy, Kirill ‍ Dmitriev, is heading ‍to Miami for a meeting with Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a Russian source told Reuters.
• The meeting in Miami this weekend comes after Witkoff and Kushner held talks in Berlin with Ukrainian and European officials earlier this week to try to reach a deal to ​end the war.
• The Russian source said that any meeting between Dmitriev and Ukrainian negotiators currently in the US had been ruled out.

Regional Security

• Turkiye’s Ministry of the Interior said that it found a Russian-made reconnaissance drone in the İzmit district of Kocaeli, in northwestern Turkiye, based on “initial findings” from an ongoing investigation.
• An “unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) believed to be of the Russian-made Orlan-10 type, used for reconnaissance and surveillance, was found,” the ministry said in a post on X.
• Turkiye’s Ministry of National Defence said on Monday that it had shot down a drone over the Black Sea as it approached Turkish airspace, according to local reports, without providing further details.
• Ukraine’s Ukrinform news site reported on Friday that after the drone was shot down, Turkiye had informed both Kyiv and Moscow “of the need to act cautiously” so as not to “negatively affect security in the Black Sea”.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department released a library of files on Friday related to Jeffrey Epstein, partially complying with a new federal law compelling their release, while acknowledging that hundreds of thousands of files remain sealed.

The portal, on the department’s website, includes videos, photos and documents from the years-long investigation of the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, who died in federal prison in 2019. But upon an initial survey of the files, several of the documents were heavily redacted, and much of the database was unsearchable, in spite of a provision of the new law requiring a more accessible system.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress, unequivocally required the department to release its full trove of files by midnight Friday, marking 30 days since passage.

But a top official said earlier Friday that the department would miss the legal deadline Friday to release all files, protracting a scandal that has come to plague the Trump administration. Hundreds of thousands more were still under review and would take weeks more to release, said Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general.

“I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today several hundred thousand and then over the next couple weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more,” Blanche told Fox News on Friday.

The delay drew immediate condemnation from Democrats in key oversight roles.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, accused President Trump and his administration in a statement Friday of “violating federal law as they continue covering up the facts and the evidence about Jeffrey Epstein’s decades-long, billion-dollar, international sex trafficking ring,” and said they were “examining all legal options.”

The delay also drew criticism from some Republicans.

“My goodness, what is in the Epstein files?” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who is leaving Congress next month, wrote on X. “Release all the files. It’s literally the law.”

“Time’s up. Release the files,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) wrote on X.

Already, congressional efforts to force the release of documents from the FBI’s investigations into Epstein have produced a trove of the disgraced financier’s emails and other records from his estate.

Some made reference to Trump and added to a long-evolving portrait of the social relationship that Epstein and Trump shared for years, before what Trump has described as a falling out.

In one email in early 2019, during Trump’s first term in the White House, Epstein wrote to author and journalist Michael Wolff that Trump “knew about the girls.”

In a 2011 email to Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later convicted of conspiring with Epstein to help him sexually abuse young girls, Epstein wrote, “I want you to realize that the dog that hasn’t barked is trump. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him … he has never once been mentioned.”

Maxwell responded: “I have been thinking about that…”

Trump has strongly denied any wrongdoing, and downplayed the importance of the files. He has also intermittently worked to block their release, even while suggesting publicly that he would not be opposed to it.

His administration’s resistance to releasing all of the FBI’s files, and fumbling with their reasons for withholding documents, was overcome only after Republican lawmakers broke off and joined Democrats in passing the transparency measure.

The resistance has also riled many in the president’s base, with their intrigue and anger over the files remaining stickier and harder to shake for Trump than any other political vulnerability.

It remained unclear Friday afternoon what additional revelations would come from the anticipated dump. Among the files that were released, extensive redactions were expected to shield victims, as well as references to individuals and entities that could be the subject of ongoing investigations or matters of national security.

That could include mentions of Trump, experts said, who was a private citizen over the course of his infamous friendship with Epstein through the mid-2000s.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 of procuring a child for prostitution in Florida, but served only 13 months in custody in what was considered a sweetheart plea deal that saved him a potential life sentence. He was charged in 2019 with sex trafficking, and died in federal custody at a Manhattan jail awaiting trial. Epstein was alleged to have abused over 200 women and girls.

Many of his victims argued in support of the release of documents, but administration officials have cited their privacy as a primary excuse for delaying the release — something Blanche reiterated Friday.

“There’s a lot of eyes looking at these and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials we are producing, that we are protecting every single victim,” Blanche said, noting that Trump had signed the law just 30 days prior.

“And we have been working tirelessly since that day to make sure that we get every single document that we have within the Department of Justice, review it and get it to the American public,” he said.

Trump had lobbied aggressively against the Epstein Files Transparency Act, unsuccessfully pressuring House Republican lawmakers not to join a discharge petition that would force a vote on the matter over the wishes of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). He ultimately signed the bill into law after it passed both chambers with veto-proof majorities.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), who introduced the House bill requiring the release of the files, warned that the Justice Department under future administrations could pursue legal action against current officials who work to obstruct the release of any of the files, contravening the letter of the new law.

“Let me be very clear, we need a full release,” Khanna said. “Anyone who tampers with these documents, or conceals documents, or engages in excessive redaction, will be prosecuted because of obstruction of justice.”

Given Democrats’ desire to keep the issue alive politically, and the intense interest in the matter from voters on both ends of the political spectrum, the fact that the Justice Department failed to meet the Friday deadline in full was likely to stoke continued agitation for the documents’ release in coming days.

In their statement Friday, Garcia and Raskin hammered on Trump administration officials — including Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi — for allegedly interfering in the release of records.

“For months, Pam Bondi has denied survivors the transparency and accountability they have demanded and deserve and has defied the Oversight Committee’s subpoena,” they said. “The Department of Justice is now making clear it intends to defy Congress itself.”

Among other things, they called out the Justice Department’s decision to move Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, to a minimum security prison after she met with Blanche in July.

“The survivors of this nightmare deserve justice, the co-conspirators must be held accountable, and the American people deserve complete transparency from DOJ,” Garcia and Raskin said.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), in response to Blanche saying all the files wouldn’t be released Friday, said the transparency act “is clear: while protecting survivors, ALL of these records are required to be released today. Not just some.”

“The Trump administration can’t move the goalposts,” Schiff wrote on X. “They’re cemented in law.”

My name is Jon Halperin. I booked and managed Chain Reaction from 2000 to 2006. It started by accident while I was running a one-person record label. I went to the club to see the band Melee perform and the prior talent buyer for the club had just quit that day. I told owner Tim Hill I’d do it (having only booked three shows ever at a coffee shop). We slept on it, and I was hired the next day.

I joined Ron Martinez (of Final Conflict). He was booking the punk and hardcore shows. I booked the indie, ska, emo, screamo and pop punk stuff. We made a great team. Best work-wife ever.

Story time. My friend Ikey Owens (RIP) hit me up and told me that he and the guys from At the Drive In were going to be starting a new band. I’d booked Defacto (their dub project) before, and we agreed to throw them on a show and just bill it as “Defacto.” There were maybe 200 people there to see the first show for a band that would soon be known as the Mars Volta.

That wasn’t out of the ordinary. Chain Reaction had many artists grace that stage that went on to bigger things: Death Cab for Cutie, Avenged Sevenfold, Maroon 5, Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, Taking Back Sunday, Pierce the Veil, My Morning Jacket. The list goes on and on.

Jon Halperin, who booked Chain Reaction from 2000 to 2006, stands in front of the club during its heyday.

(From Jon Halperin)

I used to make a deal with the kids. Buy a ticket to “X” show, and if you didn’t like the band, I’d refund you. I never had to. I knew my audience and they trusted my curation of the room. … It was by the kids, for the kids, except I was 30 at the time. I had to think like a teenager. My friend Brian once called me “Peter Pan.”

Halfway through my reign, social media became a thing. There was Friendster and a bit later MySpace. YouTube stated just a few years after. But those first few years of me at the venue, it was word of mouth. It was paper fliers dropped off at coffee shops and record stores. It was the flier in the venue window. It was Mean Street Magazine and Skratch Magazine.

I’d tease the press when they wanted to review a show. If you don’t show up with a pen and paper, you aren’t getting in (sorry, Kelli).

Most music industry went to the Los Angeles show, but smart industry came to us. Countless acts got signed following their shows. You’d often see the band meeting with a label in the parking lot near their tour van.

It was a dry room when I was there. No booze or weed whatsoever. We made only one exception to the weed rule. An artist in a band with Crohn’s disease who traveled with a nurse. Not saying bands didn’t drink backstage, on stage, in their vans (we rarely had buses), but what we didn’t see didn’t happen.

Touche Amoré performing at Chain Reaction in 2010.

(Joe Calixto)

We were often referred to as the “CBGB’s of the West,” and for a lot of bands, locals and touring acts alike, we were just that. We were the epicenter. There were other venues of course, but for some reason, we were the venue to play. Showcase Theater in Corona was edging toward its demise. Koo’s Cafe in Santa Ana was done. Back Alley in Fullerton wasn’t active. Galaxy Theater [in Santa Ana] was still, well, the Galaxy. There was no House of Blues Anaheim. Bands would drive a thousand miles to play one show at Chain Reaction. We were where the local bands started as first of four on a bill and would be headlining us within a year. We were their jumping-off point. We were where the kids came out. The real fans, many of whom started bands themselves.

Thankfully, there are other smaller venues out there today fostering the all-ages scene: Programme Skate in Fullerton, the Locker Room at Garden AMP [in Garden Grove], Toxic Toast in Long Beach, the Haven Pomona, but it’s just not the same. It was a moment in time. A time that will be forgotten in a few decades, but for today, my social media is being inundated with memories of a room that was a second home for thousands of kids.

Zero regrets. It was the best and worst times of my life. Working a day gig and then heading to the venue nearly every day of the week was rough. Relationships and friendships were hard, being that I couldn’t go out at night. I couldn’t get a pet. I was constantly tired. But I wouldn’t trade those six years for the world.

RIP, Chain Reaction.

SEATTLE — Puka Nacua promised he would learn from his mistakes, but his pledge was unconvincing.

His speech was rushed. What he said barely made any sense.

And there was this: On Thursday night, two days after criticizing referees on a livestream, Nacua posted a sarcastic message about the officials following the Rams’ 38-37 overtime defeat by the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

“Can you say I was wrong,” he wrote on X. “Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. Lol”

The post was quickly deleted. The questions about Nacua’s judgment remained.

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua criticized referees immediately after the Rams’ overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night before deleting the post on X.

Nacua, 24, is in line for a monster contract extension in the upcoming offseason, as the Rams view their record-breaking receiver as a cornerstone. But here he was basically repeating a mistake he made only two days earlier, which can’t be what any team wants from its most popular player.

Are the Rams really about to entrust him with the responsibility of projecting their virtues?

Ironically, the most controversial aspect of his recent livestream appearance could be the most defensible. Hours before the Rams played the Seahawks, Nacua offered an explanation for the antisemitic gesture he made on Adin Ross’ and N3on’s show.

“At the time,” Nacua posted on Instagram, “I had no idea this act was antisemitic in nature and perpetuated harmful stereotypes against Jewish people.”

The story was believable. The offensive hand movements were part of a touchdown celebration Ross encouraged Nacua to perform if he scored against the Seahawks.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in their 38-37 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Thursday night.

Ross is Jewish. Earlier in the livestream he wished his viewers a Happy Hanukkah, which prompted Nacua to share that he accepted a friend’s invitation to attend Shabbat last week.

When Nacua was informed of the undertone of the celebration he practiced with Ross, he apologized. He reached the end zone twice on Thursday and didn’t perform the dance either time.

“I know this guy’s heart and for anybody that was offended, terribly sorry about that,”Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I know he feels that same exact way.”

The guess here is that he won’t ever make the gesture again.

Less certain is whether Nacua will be able to continue building his personal brand without becoming a distraction to his team.

The Rams should be concerned.

In a short week, the Rams were forced to bar Ross and N3on from entering their building.

Later that afternoon, their most visible player joined the streamers in their vehicle and traveled to a club, where he claimed that referees purposely made egregious calls because they wanted TV airtime.

This is a brave new world for athletes and the teams that employ them. Younger audiences want their heroes to be open, whether they are athletes or entertainers. For stars such as Nacua, the challenge is to strike a balance between being accessible and protective of their teams.

Nacua failed to do that this week.

“Coach (McVay) has just echoed that he’s always in continuous support of me, disappointed in some of the actions that just distracted my teammates and that’s something that I know I’ll learn from and I don’t want to be a distraction in any week, especially in a short week, so we had talked about that and he’s right there behind me,” Nacua said.

Nacua nonetheless voiced his displeasure with referees again on Thursday, posting to X minutes after the Seahawks won the game by scoring a two-point conversion in overtime.

What inspired the message, Nacua said, was “just a moment of frustration after a tough, intense game like that, just thinking of the opportunities that I could have done better to take it out of their hands.”

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, right, celebrates next to teammate Jordan Whittington after making a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks on Thursday.

(Soobum Im / Getty Images)

Whatever that meant.

McVay declined to comment about Nacua’s post, saying he was first informed of its existence when he was asked about it in his postgame news conference.

“I have to have more information before I answer any of those kinds of questions,” McVay said.

However, McVay said of Nacua’s comments about referees on the livestream, “Yeah, we don’t want to do that.”

Being asked about an unpleasant subject in the wake of a crushing defeat made McVay testy. Asked if the fallout from Nacua’s livestream was a distraction, McVay snapped, “Did you think his play showed that he was distracted?”

Nacua caught 12 passes for 225 yards.

But McVay caught himself and apologized.

“I love this team,” he said. “And, man, when you put out as much as our group does and you care so much about something and you come up short, it’s incredibly disappointing.”

Such presence of mind explains why McVay is the voice of the Rams. As competitive as he is, as intense as he can be, he knows how to keep his impulses from compromising his team’s long-term objectives.

Nacua has to figure out how to do that. By next season, he won’t be an underpaid star on his original rookie contract. He will have a deal that reflects his stature as a player, and with that comes responsibility. Recent days raised questions about whether he is capable.

In front of his home crowd, Travis Head finishes unbeaten on 142 at the close on day three to help put Australia firmly in control of the third Test against England in Adelaide.

READ MORE: Head century drives England closer to Ashes defeat

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A Spirograph of starlings in Cambridgeshire

Arrive at Fowlmere RSPB reserve, 10 miles south-west of Cambridge, an hour before nightfall to allow yourself time to find a good vantage point to enjoy the spectacle of the murmuration. Starlings gather and swirl in fluid Spirograph shapes, framed by shadowy trees against sunset reds until the sky darkens and the birds take their last dip into the reed beds. It really is a spectacular display, available most winter evenings here.
Helena

Rowing the canals of Bristol in all weathers

Our Bristol Channel Social Rowers club goes out in all weather. Frosty and clear, intense blue skies add pleasure to our early morning session. We soon warm up, for as it says on the side of our gig, Rowing Keeps You Going. It’s quiet except for the rhythm of the long oars and the ripple of water under us. We skim past Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s SS Great Britain. Then round St Mary Redcliffe church with its 84-metre spire. Hearing the bells during a Sunday row is magical.
David Innes-Wilkin

Marvellous Malvern Hills, Worcestershire

You can’t beat a wintry walk on the Malvern Hills on a crisp, bright day. One of my favourite routes is up the Herefordshire Beacon, on top of which is British Camp, an iron age hill fort. I always pass the tiny Giant’s cave (also called Clutters cave) and loop back above the reservoir. My inner child recommends taking cardboard for dry-sledging down the ditches (or a normal sledge, if we’re lucky enough for snow), but a post-ramble hot chocolate from either the Sally’s Place cafe or Malvern Hills hotel, both across the road from the car park, is a must.
Jemma Saunders

Untamed route in north Cornwall

Few corners of the UK feel wilder than Cornwall’s north coast during low season. Here, the untamed Atlantic meets the spectacular sheer cliffs between Tintagel and Port Isaac, with the South West Coast Path snaking its way precariously along the top. After a walk with the elements, settle down for some wave-watching at the Port William inn perched above Trebarwith Strand. Spectacular sunsets and family-run surf clubs are on offer, all in the imposing shadow of legendary Gull Rock. The best part? There is no phone signal in this former smuggling inlet, affording undivided attention to this dramatic land/ocean double act.
Adam McCormack

Rockpooling and dinosaurs in Somerset

Donning woolly hats, jumpers and waterproofs, I set off with my young children to the fossil-strewn beach at Kilve, Somerset. On the way we play Poohsticks, get stuck in mud and paddle in a stream. Once at the beach, every new trip brings fresh delights; devil’s toenails, ammonites, fossilised wood and crabs. We paint pebbles, fall on on our bums on wet rocks and play dinosaurs in rock pools.
Chantelle

Cycling and dark skies in Northumberland

Kielder Water in Northumberland, one of the largest artificial lakes in Europe, offers walking, wildlife, cycling and water sports. We hired bikes and did the wonderful 26-mile route round the reservoir. There are also a multitude of routes available in the forest for mountain bikers. If clear skies are forecast book an evening at the Kielder Observatory where we were entranced by the dark skies and the amazing telescopes. Hot chocolate was also on offer to warm us up as we gazed into the depths of our universe.
Matthew

Spot heroes of the underworld in UK woods

I love mushroom-spotting in the colder months. Apps such as Seek can help you identify the ones you find (but don’t rely on apps to establish whether a mushroom is edible or not). I also have my little pocket-size mushroom book. It keeps me on the lookout and interested in my surroundings, helping me stay mindful. I especially like the common name of the mushrooms. I am on the lookout for witch’s butter, wood ear and velvet shank. I am combining this with my love of photography and learning how to take pictures of mushrooms to highlight their beauty. They really are the unsung heroes of the underworld.
Ese

Hiking has taught me to embrace the rain

I’m usually the hibernating type in winter, but since joining a local hiking group, I’ve changed my ways. There has been nothing more satisfying than feeling the crisp, fresh wind against my face and forcing myself to be present in the moment. It’s taken me 37 years to acknowledge the beautiful, natural landscapes right on my doorstep. Where once I was afraid of the cold and rain, I now wrap up warm, take it in my stride and beat those winter blues one step at a time. Not to mention the sense of achievement I feel afterwards.
Shema

Boxing Day charity walk in Derry

The Goal Mile is a charity walk (and run) that takes place in many locations across the island of Ireland every Boxing Day to support the charity Goal’s work in the developing world. In Derry the walk follows the River Foyle and crosses the iconic Peace Bridge. It’s a much-needed release valve for those of us suffering cabin fever at this time of the year and a great way of raising money.
Ciaran

Winning tip: a clear day on Cader Idris, Eryri national park

First, pick a dry, clear, cold day and ensure you wear good boots and warm clothes, have told people where you’ll be, and know what the weather forecast holds. Now you’re ready for a rewarding day: a circular, five-hour walk to the summit of Wales’s finest mountain, Cader Idris starting from the Eryri national park’s Dôl Idris car park. Up steep steps through woods to Llyn Cau, a wonderful corrie; next, a tough ascent of Craig Cau and Cader Idris’s summit Penygader (fall asleep there, and wake up mad or a poet, according to legend); then back along Mynydd Moel, where Richard Wilson made one of the first (18th century) and finest mountain portraits in British art. Unforgettable!
Andrew Green

Harry Brook drops a tough chance to remove Travis Head, with the Australian opener on 99 with the home side on 202-4 and a lead of 287 on day three of the third Test in Adelaide.

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Mitchell Starc bowls a “furious” Ben Stokes for 83, as his partnership with Jofra Archer is finally broken on 106 to leave England on 274-9 on day three of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

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England’s Brydon Carse dismisses Jake Weatherald lbw for one, but replays show the decision should have been overturned as Australia are made to regret their decision not to review, leaving the home side on 8-1, with a lead of 93, on day three of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

FOLLOW LIVE: The Ashes third Test – day three

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