US President Biden authorises US$571 million in military aid to Taiwan

Hollywood Holiday: 20 Actors Who Have Played Santa Claus

From Tim Allen to Billy Bob Thornton to, more recently, J.K. Simmons and Brian Cox, a look at who has portrayed (or voiced) Saint Nick onscreen.

Watch live: Senate to vote on funding deal ahead of shutdown deadline

The Senate is slated to vote on the interim funding package to avoid government shutdown on Friday night ahead of the midnight deadline. The lower chamber, earlier in the evening Friday, voted 366-34-1 in support of the legislation, clearing the two-thirds threshold needed for

Indonesians embrace return of plundered treasure from the Dutch

The effort is part of a global restitution movement for goods plundered from the Global South.

Here are the 34 Republicans that voted against the funding bill to avoid shutdown

More than 30 House Republicans voted against the government funding bill to avert a shutdown on Friday night. The legislation cleared the lower chamber with a 366-34-1 vote, surpassing the two-thirds requirement needed as the Republican House leadership brought it up under the

K-pop act GOT7 to return as full group after 3 years

GOT7's new mini-album Winter Heptagon will release on Jan 20, 2025.

Sarah Michelle Gellar Asked for a ‘Friday Off’ to See Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

Gellar had already seen the show but wanted to catch Tortured Poets live for the first time

Barack Obama’s Favorite Movies, Music, Books of 2024: ‘Dune: Part Two,’ ‘A Complete Unkown,’ ‘Anora’ Make List

The former president's lists also included 'The Piano Lesson' and 'Conclave,' as well as Billie Eilish's "Lunch," Beyoncé's "Texas Hold 'Em" and Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)."

Senate confirms 235th Biden judge, surpassing Trump’s record

The Senate on Friday confirmed President Biden’s 235th judicial nominee, surpassing the record of 234 judges confirmed during President-elect Trump’s first term in office. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) marked the achievement after the Senate confirmed Serena

Even without Hollow Knight: Silksong, these 10 games prove that 2024 might just be the best Metroidvania year ever

Who needs Silksong anyways?

Pegasus spyware maker NSO Group is liable for attacks on 1,400 WhatsApp users

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge NSO Group, the organization behind the Pegasus spyware, has been found liable in a lawsuit brought by Meta’s WhatsApp over attacks on about 1,400 devices, as reported by The Record . WhatsApp originally filed the suit in 2019 , and

Five unanswered questions from the Pelicot trial

Although the Pelicot trial is over, some questions remain over the case that shook France.

Barack Obama Had Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé on Repeat This Year

Karol G, Hozier, Shaboozey, and Central Cee also made the former president's cut

US judge finds Israel's NSO Group liable for hacking journalists via WhatsApp

Article URL: https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/us-judge-finds-israels-nso-group-liable-hacking-whatsapp-lawsuit-2024-12-21/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42476828 Points: 9 # Comments: 0

Barack Obama Includes Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé and Billie Eilish Among Favorite Music of 2024

As is tradition, former President Barack Obama has released his favorite music from 2024, including Kendrick Lamar’s “Squabble Up,” Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Obama dropped his list on social media following his favorite movies and books

Warriors, water and a white horse: Photos of the week

A selection of news photographs from around the world.

How Tosca Musk Crafted Passionflix, the World’s Steamiest Niche Streaming Service

Tosca Musk loves love. So much so that, in 2016, she co-founded Passionflix, a niche streaming service dedicated entirely to romance. Since its inception, Passionflix has produced 28 original movies, four series and 11 short films, all adapted from romantic fiction by female

The drug-trafficking Rio gangsters who see themselves as God's 'soldiers of crime'

Brazilian narco gangs say they are taking territory for Jesus, and are barring other faiths from the favelas.

US House votes to avert government shutdown

The bill must now be passed by the Senate and signed by President Biden, otherwise government services begin to shutter.

Millie Bobby Brown Gives Tearful Goodbye as ‘Stranger Things’ Wraps Production

"I am nowhere near ready to leave you guys," the actress said in a farewell speech

Taipei’s sniffer dogs help detect sick trees to improve urban safety

Each year, Taipei finds about 300 to 400 trees infected with the deadly brown root rot disease and around 30 per cent are detected by sniffer dogs.

Biden administration withdraws proposed regulations on transgender athletes, student debt

The Biden administration on Friday withdrew a pending regulation governing transgender athletes, abandoning an effort to provide some protections for transgender students that the incoming Trump administration has said it opposes. The administration also withdrew a proposal to

James Gunn Explains Why the ‘Creature Commandos’ Episode About Weasel Is ‘the Saddest Thing I’ve Ever Written’

SPOILER WARNING: This story includes major plot details from Season 1, Episode 4 of “Creature Commandos,” currently streaming on Max. When James Gunn first introduced Weasel in the 2021 feature film “The Suicide Squad,” he knew that the DC Comics character — either an

Retiring Rep. Barbara Lee considering run for Oakland mayor

Lee’s candidacy could create a headache for moderate activists and donors eager to put a more centrist Democrat at the helm of City Hall.

‘Sonic 3’ Post-Credits Scene Explained: Who Are Those Video Game Characters? Does [SPOILER] Die? What’s Next in ‘Sonic 4’?

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers about the ending and post-credits scene in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” now playing in theaters. Just like the ending of the first two “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies, the third installment sets up the fourth movie — coming to theaters

Amazon labor strike at multiple facilities continues with more NY workers to join— here’s the latest

The Teamsters haven’t formally indicated when the actions will end, but union officials said the walkout would continue “as long as it takes.”

Free games to grab over the holidays

New and old free and free-to-play games to pick up during the season of giving, for instance if you gave too much and now have no money.

The Long Road to ‘Lana’: Why SZA Took Two Years to Drop the ‘SOS’ Deluxe Album

In most cases, deluxe albums are intended as a chart-focused second wind for their parent albums, and usually have just a handful of extra tracks — remixes, leftovers, maybe a hot new single to give an extra boost — while the artist is saving the more-promising new material for

Watch: Relatives of inmates attempt to break into Mexican prison

The BBC's Will Grant looks at unrest in which seven people died, leading to family members attempting to break inside to check on their relatives.

Dems fight to Trump-proof the federal judiciary

They just topped the mark for confirmations set under Trump’s first term, but Senate Democrats are fighting to avoid Trump putting more of a stamp on the judiciary in his second.

Mysteries of icy ocean worlds

A study introduces a novel thermodynamic concept called the 'centotectic' and investigates the stability of liquids in extreme conditions -- critical information for determining the habitability of icy moons like Europa.

Researchers take 'significant leap forward' with quantum simulation of molecular electron transfer

Researchers have made a meaningful advance in the simulation of molecular electron transfer -- a fundamental process underpinning countless physical, chemical and biological processes. The study details the use of a trapped-ion quantum simulator to model electron transfer

Breakthrough new material brings affordable, sustainable future within grasp

Researchers have developed a new material for sodium-ion batteries, sodium vanadium phosphate, that delivers higher voltage and greater energy capacity than previous sodium-based materials. This breakthrough could make sodium-ion batteries a more efficient and affordable

Mariah Carey was frozen in an ice block in Fortnite and then she thawed out and sang 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' and everyone went back to shooting each other

Fortnite's holiday event has begun.

Can the heart heal itself? New study says it can

Physician-scientists found that a subset of artificial heart patients can regenerate heart muscle, which may open the door to new ways to treat and perhaps someday cure heart failure.