So I’m glad Mandy Roscoe from the Greater Manchester printing firm, Carrick Signs, has explained where the word came from. AdvertisementWhy are they called “Christmas crackers”? “The snap strip was first introduced by cracker-maker Tom Smith in the 19th century,” Roscoe shared. “His reasoning was that the crackling sound emulated the sound of a Christmas fire, and the idea stuck,” Roscoe said. How do Christmas crackers work, anyway?
Xiaozhi A.I. is powered by artificial intelligence and it can have long conversations with six-year-old Shisan Hu. The gadget and similar chatbot toys are part of a multi-billion dollar A.I. However, in China, many parents like Zelei Hu are embracing chatbot toys. For Shisan, Xiaozhi A.I.
Suhauna HussainLos Angeles Times(TNS)LOS ANGELES — Atop the aerial ladder of a bright red fire engine, a firefighter wrangles a hose. “Pancake Breakfast” is one of the dozens of floats expected to roll through Pasadena on New Year’s Day in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. It was built by volunteers from Sierra Madre, a small foothill town that narrowly escaped the worst of the Eaton fire, which destroyed swaths of Altadena in January. In a post on Sunday, he applauded the float association for removing the dialogue. “Bravo to Sierra Madre for listening.”___©2025 Los Angeles Times.
The obvious sign of the rising hate in the Baltic States was the growth of the far right. So the Baltic States downplay the genocide of the Jews by claiming that there was in fact a “double genocide” in the Baltic region. The Baltic States are not denying the Holocaust, but they are obfuscating it in order to defend themselves against history. The EU and NATO Absorb Baltic RevisionismThis neo-Nazism would not be so alarming if it were confined to the tiny Baltic States. Nazi guilt is therefore halved and, in the view of the Baltic States, Europe’s history books must now reflect this.
Texas supermarket offers shoppers free groceries after computer glitch Christmas came early for some shoppers at an H-E-B supermarket in Texas. The store offered everyone in line free groceries after a computer glitch shut down the registers.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs seeking immediate release from prison in appeals argument Lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs urged a federal appeals court to order his immediate release from prison and reverse his conviction or direct his trial judge to lighten his sentence.
Slain officer hailed as hero A Delaware state trooper killed at the DMV has been hailed a hero, after shoving a man to safety as a shooter opened fire.
Ukraine Pres. Zelenskyy open to troop withdrawal Pres. Zelenskyy putting forth a new plan to bring peace between Ukraine and Russia, the offer would pull Ukrainian troops from the east. Patrick Reevell reports.
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Flood emergency in California The state of California is under a state of emergency as 40+ million brace for potential catastrophic rains.
Ong Jun Feng, an entrepreneur in the real estate sector in Rwanda, literally stands for Rwanda’s rise over the years. The recent founder of Marvel Kigali, an online platform showcasing Kigali’s office towers, residential projects, and commercial spaces, he uses sites such as TikTok and YouTube to promote and sell some of the country’s shiny new property projects. Growing up in Malaysia and Singapore, and majoring in marketing, his first job had been with a big real estate developer in Malaysia. “I’ve always been into economics. I’m a tourist at heart, but I’ve spent the last ten years working in real estate,” Feng tells FORBES AFRICA.
DOJ: Few more weeks for Epstein files The DOJ announced it has uncovered more than one million more documents potentially related to the Epstein case.
Pope Leo’s first Christmas brings a powerful messageThe Vatican’s Christmas Nativity scenes go beyond tradition, aiming to convey a present-day message of Christmas. The main display in St. Peter’s Square is joined by more than 100 Nativity scenes from countries around the world, as the Vatican prepares for Pope Leo’s first Christmas since his election. CNN's Christopher Lamb reports.
Staffers leaving Heritage Foundation for Pence nonprofit, Wall Street Journal reports More than a dozen staffers have left the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation for a nonprofit founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, the Wall Street Journal reports. The internal blowup was sparked by foundation president Kevin Roberts defending Tucker Carlson's interview of white nationalist commentator Nick Fuentes.
