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Most notable films of 2025, according to The New York Times 2025 was another jam-packed year in Hollywood. The New York Times polled 16 of its film experts to see what they thought were the most notable movies of the year. Reggie Ugwu, culture reporter for The Times, joins CBS News to break down the results.

Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, the one-time PR shop Mueller Communications is booming. Get a daily rundown of the Milwaukee storiesH. Carl Mueller, who started Mueller Communications 40 years ago, was the classic example of a PR guy with great connections and robust rolodex. Much of that growth has come since Richards and Madlom took over as co-CEOs, but Mueller laid the groundwork for all of it, they note. “Communication strategy is all about delivering the right message at the right time to the right audience in the right way,” Madlom says. The next time you look for information about Mueller Communications, the AI entry at the top of the Google page may quote this story.

A cold coming we had of it just the worst time of the year for a journey and such a long journey. There were times we regretted the summer palaces on slopes, the terraces and the silken girls bringing sherbert. Certainly, we had evidence, and no doubt I had seen birth and death, but had thought they were different. Like death, our death, we return to our places, these kingdoms, but no longer at ease here in the old dispensation with an alien people clutching their gods. So when I read this poem to my children as a practice, they said: Dad, that’s kind of dark.

(AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)MOSCOW -- Three people, including two police officers, were killed in an explosion in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian investigators said, just days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking general not far away. The incident took place in the same area of the Russian capital where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was killed by a car bomb on Monday morning.

The U.S. 9th Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court order requiring the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to build more than 2,500 units of housing on its West Los Angeles campus and invalidating a prestigious private school’s lease there. It overruled the judge’s order invalidating UCLA’s lease of a portion of the VA grounds for its baseball stadium. Advertisement”This class action lawsuit, and its numerous appeals, demonstrates just how far the VA has strayed from its mission,” De Alba wrote. “It’s the most consequential case for veterans in the history of the country,” Rosenbaum said. “The VA should have utilized the West L.A. property as it was intended to house veterans.

California milk cartons may lose their coveted recycling symbol, the one with the chasing arrows, potentially threatening the existence of the ubiquitous beverage containers. AdvertisementThe company decision means the number of Californians with access to beverage carton recycling falls below the threshold in the state’s “Truth in Recycling” law, or Senate Bill 343. In updated guidelines for the Truth in Recycling law, recycling rates for carton material have fallen below the state threshold. Others said it was a sign that the Truth in Recycling law was working: Markets were being discovered and in some cases, created, to provide recycling. Now we ask them and other waste companies to stop illegally exporting mixed paper waste to countries that have banned it.”

Jim Carrey in the beloved film adaptation of The Grinch Moviestore/ShutterstockIn the last two decades, the 2000s big-screen adaptation of The Grinch has become an undeniable festive classic. The Grinch is actually an Oscar-winning filmWhen you think “Grinch”, you don’t necessarily think: Academy Awards – but you should. Eddie Murphy auditioned for the role of The GrinchThough the role went to Jim Carrey, multiple other actors auditioned, including Jack Nicholson. Jim Carrey improvised some of The Grinch’s most iconic linesOne such iconic line – “6:30pm – dinner with me. And yes... Cindy Lou Who did, indeed, grow up to be a rock singerJim Carrey with a young Taylor Momsen in The Grinch Ron Batzdorff/Universal/THA/ShutterstockAdvertisement

Zelensky Calls Peace Plan ‘Quite Solid,’ Russia Then Launches MissilesTuesday morning, hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said that the latest American-backed proposals for a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow looked “quite solid,” Russia launched a series of drone and missiles strikes against Ukraine. By Jamie LeventhalDecember 23, 2025

If China were to conquer Taiwan, it would do little to facilitate further Chinese military expansion. Moreover, the added strength of other allies and partners, including Australia, India, South Korea, and Vietnam, suggests that Chinese military hegemony in the Asia-Pacific will remain a pipedream even in the event of a Chinese conquest of Taiwan. Over the last 15 years, significant tensions have surfaced in Japan-China relations, but these have never concerned Chinese military threats against Japan’s home islands. Still, Chinese conquest of Taiwan isn’t a foregone conclusion even when it is outside the American defense perimeter. Stepping away from Taiwan’s defenseA U.S. that steps away fully from any Taiwan defense commitment will be significantly better off.

The positions being eliminated include primary care doctors and nurses, mental health care providers and social workers, among many others. The VA said the cuts are an effort to remove postings for outdated positions that have long been vacant. “It’s hard to watch.” The person said that over half of the 1,000 or so open job positions at their facility are being eliminated. “What freaked us out is that we didn’t expect them to cut mental health providers,” another source, a VA management official in mental health, said. “They aren’t firing anyone, but all open positions are gone and they may not let us re-fill when people leave,” said one source.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGPROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to reallocate federal Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain federal immigration enforcement. The cuts were unveiled shortly after a separate federal judge in a different legal challenge ruled it was unconstitutional for the federal government to require states to cooperate on immigration enforcement actions to get FEMA disaster funding. In her 48-page ruling, McElroy found that the federal government was weighing states’ police on federal immigration enforcement on whether to reduce federal funding for the Homeland Security Grant Program and others. The Trump-appointed judge then ordered the Department of Homeland Security to restore the previously announced funding allocations to the plaintiff states. “We will fight to restore these critical reforms and protect American lives.”Meanwhile, attorneys general who sued the administration applauded the order.

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.

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(Photos by Getty Images)AdvertisementFor those not familiar, method dressing is when stars wear looks on a press tour inspired by the movie they’re promoting. “Method dressing often becomes prologue to the film itself — it sets the tone and the context of the film and makes you curious about it,” says Ross Martin, president of marketing agency Known. They’re not just showing up, they’re actually embodying the character in the world of the film.”‘Wicked’ stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. Bretaña says method dressing tends to work best with sci-fi or fantasy projects because of the inherent drama in their costuming. “I think ‘Wuthering Heights’ will be our litmus test to see if method dressing will spill over into historically inspired garments,” says Bretaña.