Ego Nwodim has been tapped to host the 41st Film Independent Spirit Awards. The Saturday Night Live alum will host the awards show on Feb. 15, 2026. “No stage celebrates the incredible work of these visionary artists and independent creators everywhere quite like the Spirit Awards,” Nwodim said in a statement. “I can’t wait to join Film Independent for an afternoon of fun, laughs and a few surprises.” …
Sigourney Weaver is in talks to join a new action franchise. Deadline reports the actress is in conversations to join the upcoming Tomb Raider series at Prime Video. The show will star Sophie Turner as Lara Croft, while Phoebe Waller-Bridge will write and executive produce …
We now know who will joinKim Kardashian in the upcoming Netflix ensemble comedy The Fifth Wheel. NikkiGlaser, Brenda Song and Fortune Feimster are set to star in the upcoming film that follows a disastrous group trip to Las Vegas. Kardashian will also produce the film, which will be directed by Eva Longoria, and written by Paula Pell and Janine Brito …
(WASHINGTON) — More than 20 years ago, the Supreme Court outlawed the execution of intellectually disabled people convicted of capital crimes as “cruel and unusual” punishment forbidden by the Eighth Amendment.
In a major case from Alabama before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the justices are asked to clarify who qualifies as “intellectually disabled” and what role intelligence quotient — also known as IQ — test scores play in making the determination.
Joseph Clifton Smith, an Alabama man who brought the case, confessed to a 1997 murder during a robbery, but challenged his death sentence on grounds he has had “substantially subaverage intellectual functioning” since a young age.
Smith has taken five separate IQ tests over nearly 40 years, scoring 75 in 1979, 74 in 1982, 72 in 1998, 78 in 2014 and 74 in 2017.
People below 70 are generally considered to have an intellectual disability, but major American medical groups urge a holistic assessment that also looks at social and practical skills.
The groups note that standardized test scores alone should not be conclusive. Smith’s score of 72, for example, could be 69 when factoring the 3-point margin of error.
“Intellectual disability diagnoses based solely on IQ test scores are faulty and invalid,” attorneys for the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association told the court in a legal brief. “But IQ test scores remain relevant; IQ tests are a scientifically valid means to ascertain estimates of an individual’s intellectual ability. The key is to understand both the value of IQ tests and their limits.”
Smith, who allegedly suffered physical and verbal abuse as a child, consistently functioned two grade-levels below his placement in school, according to court documents. Smith’s school classified him as “Educable Mentally Retarded” in 7th grade before he eventually dropped out.
Two lower federal courts ruled that a holistic analysis of Smith’s IQ scores and other evidence, including his behavioral history and school records, proved he is intellectually disabled and should spend life behind bars rather than face execution.
Alabama wants the justices to toss out that assessment.
“Joseph Smith is not intellectually disabled, and the Eighth Amendment does not override the death sentence he earned for murdering Durk Van Dam,” the state argued in its brief to the court. “Whether and how to weigh multiple IQ scores is left to state discretion.”
The state says intellectual disability can only be proven by an IQ score of 70 or less by a preponderance of the evidence.
The Supreme Court’s decision in the case will determine whether Smith lives or dies.
More broadly, the ruling could determine how many other borderline intellectually disabled people on death row could be able to convert their death sentences into life behind bars.
By one estimate, as many as 20% of the 2,100 people on death row in the U.S. may have some degree of intellectual disability, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
A ruling in the case — Hamm v. Smith — is expected by the end of June 2026.
The Federal Reserve logo is visible on the William McChesney Martin Jr. Building on December 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Reserve is set to announce its latest adjustment of interest rates on Wednesday, potentially slashing borrowing costs for the third time this year in an effort to boost sluggish hiring.
Top officials at the Federal Reserve have displayed a rare degree of public disagreement over a possible interest rate cut. Inflation has picked up in recent months alongside the hiring slowdown, posing a risk of an economic double-whammy known as “stagflation.”
The Fed is stuck in a bind, since the central bank must balance a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. To address pressure on both of its goals, the Fed primarily holds a single tool: interest rates.
If the Fed holds interest rates steady as a means of protecting against tariff-induced inflation, it risks a deeper slowdown of the labor market. On the other hand, if the Fed lowers rates to stimulate the economy in the face of a hiring slowdown, it threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.
“We have one tool,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., in October. “You can’t address both of those at once.”
Lately, sentiment shifted in favor of a rate cut as some influential central bankers voiced openness toward the move, futures markets showed.
The chances of a quarter-point interest rate cut stand at about 87%, surging from a level as low as 30% last month, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
The prospects appeared to move in response to a murky jobs report and public statements from two allies of Powell on the committee charged with setting rates.
Last month, a jobs report for September sent mixed signals about the labor market. Employers added far more workers than expected in September, though hiring fell short of a breakneck clip. Meanwhile the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, a low figure by historical standards but the highest recorded since October 2021.
New York Fed President John Williams, who is often in lockstep with Powell, days later voiced openness toward a rate cut, telling reporters he still saw “room for a further adjustment in the near term.”
Soon afterward, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daley took a similar position, telling reporters she sees room “for a further adjustment in the near term.” Daley, who isn’t voting on interest rates this year, is widely viewed as a supporter of Powell.
A quarter-point interest rate cut would reduce the Fed’s benchmark rate to a level between 3.5% and 3.75%.
That figure would mark a significant pullback from a peak in 2023. At the outset of the pandemic, interest rates stood at 0%.
Still, a reduction of interest rates could offer some relief for mortgage and credit card borrowers. Savers, however, stand to lose income as interest rates decline for accounts held at banks.
People walk through the streets of Sumy during emergency power cuts on December 9, 2025 in Sumy, Ukraine. (Maksym Kishka/Frontliner/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Millions of Ukrainians have been plunged into frequent darkness and cold as Russian drones and missiles wage a systematic long-range campaign against the country’s energy grid for the fourth consecutive winter.
Even at the offices of Ukraine’s mammoth state-owned Naftogaz oil and gas conglomerate in Kyiv, emergency generators have been keeping the lights on.
“What I can see from my window — there is an absolutely dark city with only some lights,” CEO Sergii Koretskyi told ABC News during a video interview. “I’m sure people recognize this winter as the most difficult since the full-scale invasion started. We can see power cuts from four up to 10 hours a day.”
Russia’s nightly bombardments have increasingly targeted energy infrastructure in recent months, Ukrainian officials say, often involving hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles.
Ukrainian President Voloydmyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly appealed for more Western military aid to help blunt such strikes. “The Russians’ goal is to hurt millions of Ukrainians,” the president said in a social media post on Saturday.
Between October and December so far, Naftogaz recorded 11 “massive attacks on gas infrastructure across Ukraine,” Koretskyi said. “Our gas production infrastructure has suffered significant damage and destruction,” he added.
Naftogaz estimates the combined cost of covering its gas shortfall and repairing its production and storage infrastructure at more than $3 billion, Koretskyi said.
“We can see that the scale and intensity of strikes have changed dramatically,” Koretskyi added. This year’s bombardments have been even more punishing than those in the back end of last winter, he added, when Ukraine had 42% of its domestic gas production knocked out.
Throughout its full-scale invasion — which began in February 2022 following eight years of lower-intensity cross-border Russian aggression — Moscow has denied intentionally targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.
The Russian Defense Ministry says it attacks Ukrainian fuel and energy targets that support the Ukrainian armed forces and Ukraine’s military-industrial enterprises.
Ukraine is also waging its own long-range strike campaign against Russian energy targets, particularly oil storage and refining facilities. Kyiv says the lucrative proceeds from Russian oil exports help fund Moscow’s ongoing invasion.
Koretskyi declined to say what proportion of the country’s gas production and storage capacities had been taken offline during this winter’s attacks, citing operational security and Moscow’s use of public statements and statistics to guide its strike campaign.
But virtually all of Ukraine’s regions now routinely face rolling blackouts, imposed to help protect the country’s grid while repairs are carried out, leaving millions with only hours of power.
Naftogaz says it supplies gas to 12.5 million households across Ukraine. Around 80% of the population using gas to heat their homes. Each night of Russian attacks threatens new blackouts for tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of people.
“Their goal is clear — this is pure terrorism,” he said, “to put us into the darkness without heat during this winter season.”
Analysts have suggested that Western support could prove vital in helping Ukraine through this winter.
“Without substantial Western support — particularly air defense systems, transformers, and financial assistance for emergency repairs — blackouts are likely to be more regular, people will suffer in the cold, and economic activity may slow,” political consultant Kateryna Odarchenk wrote for the Center for European Policy Analysis this month.
Zelenskyy and his top officials have consistently pressed Western allies to provide more air defense systems and ammunition, to help Ukrainian defenders protect civilian centers, military sites and critical infrastructure.
Yuriy Boyechko, the CEO of the Hope For Ukraine charity, told ABC News that the current energy crisis is a result of inadequate air defenses in the face of “the relentless deluge of Russian missiles and drones.” He added, “The only viable solution is immediate, comprehensive air defense support from Western allies.”
The bombing has wrought holes in Ukraine’s energy network. As of December, Naftogaz estimated that Ukraine needed to import 4.4 billion cubic meters of gas through to the end of this heating season — which Ukraine’s government estimates will end by around March 31.
This is expected to cost some €1.9 billion — around $2.2 billion — Koretskyi said. Zelenskyy and his government have mobilized to secure the funding from foreign partners and financial institutions, but Naftogaz’s chief said a hole of around €600 million remains.
Kyiv is turning to private companies in gas-rich nations like the U.S. to help fill the gap. Companies require two permits to export natural gas — one from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and one from the Department of Energy.
This year already, more than 500 million cubic meters of American liquid natural gas (LNG) have been imported, with another 300 million cubic meters agreed for import earlier next year.
Through 2026, Koretskyi said, Ukraine would like to bring in another 1 billion cubic meters of American LNG. “We would like to build long-term relationships with U.S. LNG suppliers,” he said.
A recent agreement to import U.S. LNG through the Soviet-era Trans-Balkan pipeline running from Greece is also part of this drive, Ukrainian officials have said.
But as Russia’s attacks grow larger and more sophisticated, the cost and complexity of recovery grows. Naftogaz’s list of equipment needed for repairs is now 190 items strong, Koretskyi said. The estimated cost of this badly needed equipment is more than $900 million, he added.
“There are two lists of equipment — the first one for repairing or replacing those damaged or even destroyed, and the second is for a strategic reserve for upcoming potential attacks,” he explained. U.S. and European suppliers, Koretskyi said, could prove pivotal in filling the gaps.
“The lead time — of production time, delivery and installation — will take between eight and 18 months,” Koretskyi said. “So, we should be ready not just for this winter season, but for the next heating season.”
Meanwhile, the strikes and blackouts continue.
On Dec. 4, for example, the Kherson central heating plant in the southern frontline city was knocked offline after days of attacks by various Russian weapons systems. Kherson military administration head Oleksandr Prokudin said that disruption left more than 40,000 without heat.
“It’s like a nightmare,” Koretskyi said of life under rolling blackouts for many Ukrainians. “I do believe Ukrainians recognize the risk, the challenge, that Russia will continue bombing us.”
“Nobody can imagine what will happen in the coming months or weeks,” he added, suggesting that Ukrainians may have to summon reserves of resilience already tapped by almost four years of full-scale war.
“This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Koretskyi said. “The war changes, upgrades and becomes different every day. The measures for survival, for protection, should be changed as well … That’s how we live.”
Badwater Basin, the site of Lake Manly, is viewed from Dante’s View showing the lake receding due to evaporation on April 21, 2024, near Furnace Creek, California. (George Rose/Getty)
(DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif.) — An ancient lake that once existed at Death Valley National Park has reemerged after record rainfall in the region.
Several inches of water have formed in Badwater Basin, which lies at 282 feet below sea level, the lowest point in North America, according to a press release from the National Park Service.
During the Ice Ages, the basin — colloquially known as Lake Manly — was once a lake with depths of up to 700 feet.
Ice covered the Sierra Nevada between 128,000 and 186,000 years ago, allowing rivers to flow into a long valley that fed into Lake Manly, according to NASA. At the time, the lake measured nearly 100 miles long.
In modern times, the basin typically lies bare, without any significant moisture.
Death Valley just experienced its wettest fall on record, according to the National Weather Service. Between September and November, 2.41 inches of rain fell — more than what typically falls in the desert landscape in one year. November alone recorded 1.76 inches — breaking the record set in 1923 at 1.7 inches.
The lake is much more shallow than the one that formed in 2024 in the aftermath of Hurricane Hilary — an event that prompted the first tropical storm watch in California’s history.
On Aug. 20, 2024, alone, more than 2 inches of rain fell in Death Valley, according to the NPS.
This year’s rainfall will allow those who missed the last emergence of Lake Manly to see the rare phenomenon once again.
The water can’t drain out, since the basin is contained and at such a low elevation, said Andrew Heltzel, chief commercial officer of the Xanterra Travel Collection, an operator of lodges, restaurants and excursions at several of the most iconic national parks in the U.S., including Death Valley, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.
“It’s almost impenetrable,” Heltzel told ABC News, describing the outskirts of the basin as “like a seal.”
The only way for the water to escape is through evaporation, which could take months.
When the water is present, it creates a stunning reflection of the surrounding mountain peaks.
“My advice would be to, if you are interested in seeing this, not to delay to get there,” Heltzel said. “It is getting smaller through evaporation every day.”
The “most exciting” aspect of the way the rain fell this time is that it could spark a superbloom of wildflowers in the spring, Heltzel said.
The pace and amount of rain that fell made for the “perfect ingredients” for a significant display of wildflowers to emerge, Heltzel said.
In 2024, too much rain fell too fast, and the soil was unable to absorb the moisture, Heltzel said.
“With the November rains, they came in gently enough that it was able to get into the ground and potentially give us those flowers as well as a second chance to see Lake Manly,” he said.
The last time a superbloom occurred was in 2016, according to the NPS.
The recent storms caused numerous road closures across the parks, with several paved roads covered in flood debris, according to the NPS. However, many of the park’s most popular sites remain open, including Zabriskie Point, Dantes View, Badwater Basin, and Mesquite Sand Dunes.
The National Park Service advised visitors to be aware that unpaved roads may be impassable due to storm damage and to be prepared for self-rescue when traveling on backcountry roads.
In February, Death Valley National Park will host the Dark Sky Festival, which can give visitors opportunities to sky gaze while also seeing Lake Manly, Heltzel said.
Death Valley has been designated as a Gold Tier Dark Sky Park, which signifies the highest rating of darkness, according to the NPS.
“The stargazing opportunities in Death Valley are second to none,” Heltzel said.
Al Azhar University in Gaza. (Diaa Ostaz/ABC News)
(GAZA STRIP) — After two consecutive years of war that upended nearly every aspect of life in the Gaza Strip, universities are slowly beginning to reopen, restoring a path to education despite extraordinary levels of destruction.
Before Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza had 17 higher-education institutions, comprising hundreds of buildings. Today, most of these facilities are in ruins, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
More than 100 university buildings were destroyed during the war, while roughly 200 university employees were killed, the education ministry said. The devastation has raised doubts about whether higher education could resume at all. But at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, the administration and some students told ABC News they are determined not to let the war erase an entire generation’s future.
When ABC News visited the temporary campus where Al-Azhar has resumed in-person teaching, the damaged classrooms and improvised facilities reflected the depth of the crisis–yet they also highlighted the resilience of students returning with determination to continue their studies.
The university’s vice president, Dr. Muhammad Shubeir, said the decision to reopen was driven by necessity and by a sense of duty.
“During the difficult period of the war, we resumed the teaching,” online, Shubeir told ABC News. He said the staff worked from dangerous areas just to secure satellite internet. “We faced many risks, but thank God, we were able to continue until the war ended.”
As soon as conditions allowed, the administration said it moved toward restoring in-person learning, even though one of Al-Azhar’s largest campuses–its new facility in the Al Zahra area, which turned into the Netzarim corridor during the war — had been completely leveled.
“Despite losing everything at the university–especially the new campus that housed five colleges–we will begin anew with these buildings, gradually and voluntarily,” he told ABC News in an interview.
Shubeir said the university repeatedly stressed to all parties that it had no role in any conflict, and he recalled a phone call with an Israeli intelligence officer ordering the evacuation of the Zahra campus.
“Al-Azhar University is an academic institution that strives for a culture of peace, coexistence, and respect among all peoples,” Shubeir said. He said he reminded the officer that targeting educational institutions violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, though the warning did not stop the demolition.
The IDF told ABC News it found Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the university that was used for Hamas military activities.
IDF said soldiers on Oct. 30, 2024, identified armed terrorists and an anti-tank missile launching position in the Al-Azhar University area, and guided a fighter jet to strike.
“On Dec. 7, IDF soldiers destroyed enemy infrastructure disguised in buildings, that were used for Hamas’ military activities at Al-Azhar University in the Rimal neighborhood of the Gaza Strip,” IDF said in a statement.
“Terror infrastructures were located in the university campus, among them, an underground terror tunnel that leads from the university yard to a school about a kilometer away from it,” the IDF statement continued. “In addition, many weapons of explosive charges, rocket parts, launchers, explosives activation systems and a variety of technological means were found in the university.”
The financial damage to the school is immense, Shubeir said.
“The new university campus was erased from existence, resulting in a loss of $30 million,” he said. He estimated the total destruction of buildings, equipment, and movable assets at more than $40 million.
Still, he said the university’s message to the world remains unchanged. “In Gaza, there are people who want life. We want to live in peace and stability,” he said.
For some students, returning to campus has been both inspiring and overwhelming. Many have lost homes, academic materials, and years of normal schooling. Mira Al-Agha, a first-year pharmacy student, said her motivation to resume her studies came from her belief that education is the only sustainable path forward.
“Honestly, we have great faith in Al-Azhar University that it will definitely return,” she told ABC News. She said that despite limited facilities, university staff “are still working tirelessly, step by step.”
But she said the emotional toll remains heavy.
“We spent two years in places unsuitable for studying,” she said. “But the spirit of education makes you feel that you want to become something in this world. It gives you the motivation to continue.”
For Mira, transportation is one of the biggest obstacles–traveling from Khan Younis to Gaza City is expensive and unpredictable. She said students need better access to transportation, internet, and study spaces.
For dentistry students at Al-Azhar, the challenges are even greater. Much of their practical training relies on specialized labs and equipment — almost all of which were destroyed, the school said.
Dental student Abdul Rahman Amer, in the 5th level of the dentistry program, said the destruction initially shattered his hope.
“When I saw the building destroyed, I lost hope of ever completing our studies,” he told ABC News. But the university’s effort to secure temporary facilities revived his determination. “This gave us a glimmer of hope to resume our education,” he said.
Amer’s daily routine reflects the broader difficulties facing students. He leaves home before sunrise to catch transportation, which he says can cost around $50 per day.
“These aren’t luxuries,” he said, describing the difficulty of finding dental materials. “We help people and relieve their toothaches. But the tools are difficult to find, and the prices are exorbitant.” Still, he insists he will not give up. “Nothing will benefit me except finishing my studies,” he said.
The reopening of higher-education institutions–however limited–is a reminder that rebuilding Gaza begins with safeguarding its students’ futures, Shubeir said. For thousands of young people walking across damaged campuses each morning, education is not just learning; it is an act of resilience and a statement of survival, he added.
Shubeir said the world should understand that Gaza’s students are holding onto education as their last remaining path to a stable future.
“Our buildings were destroyed, but our will was not,” he said. He urged the international community to support efforts to rebuild academic life in Gaza, stressing that education is the foundation on which recovery must begin. “We want life, peace, and dignity,” he said. “Stand with us so we can protect this generation and give them the future they deserve.”
Having your first-ever song blow up is nice, but Russell Dickerson says he’s glad that his current hit, “Happen to Me,” didn’t happen to him until now.
“I think about this year a lot, like, what if this was my first song, and [it became] like the biggest [one],” he mused to ABC Audio. The song has become his biggest in several years, as well as a viral smash on TikTok. “I would just be, like, ‘that guy.'”
But Russell has been a chart-topping country star for years now — he scored the first of his many country #1 hits back in 2017.
“It’s so funny to see people comment that don’t know who I am,” he notes. “They’re like, ‘This is all this guy has, is a stupid dance.'”
He laughs, “Like, ‘Actually, no, bro, I got, like, five number ones also.’ … And I mean that in the most humble of ways.”
“I’ve worked my you-know-what off for the last decade to get to where we are now.” (AUDIO IS ABC 1-ON-1)
And “where we are now” is “everywhere.” Thanks to “Happen to Me,” Russell has sung on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, headlined a major tour, done a remix with the Jonas Brothers and appeared on multiple TV shows.
He’ll also ring in 2026 as one of the performers on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest on Dec. 31.
Chino Moreno of Deftones performs live on stage at the Rock Am Ring festival at Nuerburgring on June 07, 2024 in Nuerburg, Germany. (Gina Wetzler/Redferns)
Deftones have announced a collaboration with a youth soccer team based in the band’s hometown Oak Park neighborhood in Sacramento, California.
The collection includes replicas of the jerseys Chino Moreno and company designed for the team, called Los Jaguares, as well as a Deftones-branded soccer ball.
“Los Jaguares represent an underserved community in one of California’s lowest-income districts,” reads the product description. “For these athletes, soccer is a vital source of pride and community, as reflected in their rallying cry: ‘Who are we? Familia.'”
The band adds, “Your purchase helps guarantee soccer remains free for every player, while providing vital access to fields, quality coaching, and healthy snacks.”
You can order your own Deftones jersey and soccer ball now via the group’s web store.
Deftones released a new album, private music, in August. Lead single “my mind is a mountain” became the first Deftones song to hit #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Max McNown has followed up his breakthrough hit “A Little More Free” with “Better Me for You (Brown Eyes).” While the song was inspired by his then-girlfriend, Max says it’s not exactly a love song — it’s more about how she inspired him to be worthy of her love.
“The verses are very honest depictions of who I was and who I didn’t want to be,” he told ABC Audio. “I was just making decisions that I was not proud of. I was a person I wasn’t proud to be.”
“And it’s so funny, people think the song is just purely about this relationship,” he added. “But it’s actually about, equally, who I was before the relationship and how it kind of saved me.”
Max says his manager initially had to convince him to release the song as a single. But he had an inkling it might be special the first time he played it for his the woman who inspired it.
“We were in the parking lot and I was just like, ‘Hey, I wrote a song about you today and about us and how I feel.’ And she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, can I hear it?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, for sure,'” Max recalled.
“And it was just a guitar and my voice, and I played it, and I remember she was just in the passenger seat and she just started crying,” he said. “And I was, like, ‘Man … I think this is a special song.'”
The woman turned out to be pretty special, too — she and Max are now married.
Max launches his The Cost of Growing Up headlining tour March 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
