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Christmas 2025 Celebration: Christmas celebrations are in full swing across the country with churches and markets illuminated by vibrant lights, sparkling stars, and beautifully arranged Christmas cribs, a day before the main holiday. The festive spirit is visible everywhere, as communities come together to celebrate the joyous occasion. Churches have been adorned with stunning decorations, creating a magical atmosphere that draws large crowds of people for prayer and reflection. Markets are bustling with activity, as people shop for Christmas trees, gifts, and festive treats, adding to the holiday excitement. This pre-Christmas celebration highlights the warmth and unity that the season brings, with both religious and cultural activities marking the eve of one of the most anticipated days of the year. ALSO READ: Farmer Leader Jagjit Dallewal Urges Unity In Fight As His Hunger Strike Enters Day 29: 'Either Will We Win Or...' In the national capital, Sacred Heart Cathedral Church was beautifully decorated with sparkling lights and stars, creating a festive atmosphere for the occasion. The Christmas crib added to the charm of the church, drawing many visitors who marvelled at the decorations. #WATCH | Guwahati, Assam: Dispur's Catholic Cathedral Church is decked up beautifully with lights, stars and Christmas cribs, on the occasion of #ChristmasEve pic.twitter.com/A61fVqeHd9 Visuals show people offering prayers at the church and lighting candles on Christmas Eve. Security measures were also stepped up ahead of Christmas and New Year festivities. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) South, Ankit Chauhan, stated that enhanced patrolling had been initiated in markets and other high-footfall areas, ensuring safety for the public. Senior officers have been out every evening, inspecting security setups and people's safety. "We are also increasing tenant-servant verification as we approach Republic Day," Chauhan added, stressing the importance of maintaining peace during the festive season. Furthermore, a social media monitoring cell in the South District ensures that any fake news is kept in check, maintaining the integrity of public information. In Tamil Nadu, the church in Ooty was similarly adorned with Christmas cribs, stars, and lights, radiating warmth and joy for all who visited. The town was filled with the festive spirit, with the church standing as the centrepiece of the Christmas celebrations. Ernakulam district in Kerala also joined in the festivities as a church in Kochi shone brightly with Christmas lights and decorated stars. The decorations added a magical touch to the evening, with locals and tourists alike visiting the church to embrace the festive atmosphere. In Rajasthan, the Shepherd Memorial Church in Udaipur looked stunning with its Christmas decorations, including cribs and illuminated stars. The church became a major attraction as the people of Udaipur came together to celebrate the joyous occasion. The markets of Kolkata, West Bengal, saw an influx of people who thronged to buy gifts, decorations, and sweets for Christmas. #WATCH | Madurai, Tamil Nadu: Drone visuals St. Mary's Cathedral is decked up beautifully with lights, stars and Christmas cribs, on the occasion of #ChristmasEve pic.twitter.com/tTRCpG3HVk The bustling streets were alive with the spirit of the holiday, and the city was transformed into a winter wonderland, reflecting the vibrancy and energy of Christmas Eve. In Birbhum, West Bengal, markets have come alive with the spirit of Christmas, as they are beautifully decked up with Christmas trees, bells, and an array of festive gifts. The streets are filled with decorations, creating a cheerful atmosphere as people prepare for the upcoming holiday. The vibrant decorations and bustling markets are a testament to the enthusiasm and excitement surrounding the Christmas festival in the region. In Odisha, renowned sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created a massive and intricate sand art of Santa Claus on the beaches of Puri. Spanning an impressive 160 feet long and 100 feet wide, the artwork was crafted using 550 kilograms of chocolates, adding a sweet and unique touch to the visual masterpiece. Pattnaik's sand art, which has become a significant attraction, combines the artistic skill of sand sculpting with the festive spirit of Christmas, showcasing his creativity and contributing to the celebratory mood in Odisha. #WATCH | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: St. Joseph Cathedral Church is decked up beautifully with lights, stars and Christmas cribs, on the occasion of #ChristmasEve pic.twitter.com/8KSKOCXrF9 In Jammu and Kashmir, the Holy Family Catholic Church in Srinagar was decked with sparkling lights and elegant decorations. The church was a symbol of peace and joy in the region, with people from all walks of life visiting to offer prayers and celebrate Christmas. ALSO READ: President Murmu Announces Governors For Five States: Ajay Kumar Bhalla Appointed As Manipur Guv, Kerala’s Arif Mohammed Khan Reassigned To Bihar As Christmas Eve unfolded on Tuesday, the combination of spiritual significance and festive cheer reflected the true essence of the holiday season. Whether through stunning church decorations or the bustling vibrant markets, people across the nation united in celebration, bringing warmth and joy to the cold winter nights. (Except header, this copy has not been edited by Jagran English. Source: ANI)

Pet Food Toppings Market May See a Big Move: Mars Petcare, Nestlé Purina, Hill's Pet NutritionThe claim: Amish people live longer, do not have autism, never faced a disease outbreak A Nov. 28 Threads post ( direct link , archive link ) makes sweeping claims about the health of Amish people compared to other Americans. “Amish people have a longer life expectancy than regular people and they only drink raw milk,” reads the post. “They don't get vaccinated either. There has (sic) never been outbreaks of any kind of pathogens in their communities. They also have no cases of autism.” More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page Our rating: False All of the claims are either false or unproven. There are records of virus outbreaks and autism in Amish communities. There is no data showing Amish people live longer as a group. They also do not universally oppose vaccines nor do they all only drink raw milk. Generalizations about Amish health create harmful misinformation, stereotypes Most of the claims in the social media post are easily disproven by publicly available research, and all are based on the inaccurate idea that certain practices are universal across all Amish communities. “When people talk about what 'the Amish' do to achieve health, they tend to apply certain positive-seeming traits across ‘the Amish’ as a whole,” Erik Wesner , the author of multiple books on Amish communities and operator of the website Amish America , told USA TODAY. “This is how 'the Amish' do things.' But with close to 700 different communities, there is a lot of variety within Amish society. They also tend to ignore any negatives within the Amish.” The claim of no pathogen outbreaks is false as demonstrated in multiple reports. USA TODAY previously explained how COVID-19 was spreading in Amish communities, while researchers have documented other outbreaks across the country in various Amish communities. These include certified cases of measles in Ohio , polio in Minnesota , pertussis in Delaware and rubella in Pennsylvania . The ailments documented in the journals are all vaccine-preventable diseases, with shots on the recommended schedules provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wesner said Amish people are not universally opposed to vaccines, but they are under-vaccinated as a group and, as such, more susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases. A 2017 study of Penn State Children’s Hospital’s medical records shows Amish children were hospitalized for vaccine-preventable diseases at twice the rate of other children. Fact check : No, there aren't 180,000 new Amish voters in Pennsylvania The autism claim is also demonstrably false, as USA TODAY previously reported on the existence of autism in Amish communities. The condition was documented in 2009 and 2010 studies. Anti-vaccine advocates often insist there is a link between vaccines and autism, a claim USA TODAY has also debunked . There’s no evidence supporting the claim of greater longevity for Amish people as a whole, either. Because of the different habits and ancestry of the separate Amish communities, research on all Amish people is hard to locate. A 2001 study found that one Amish community in northern Indiana had an average life expectancy of about 71 years, short of the national average of 74 years for men and nearly 80 years for women that same year. Researchers did find a genetic mutation in that Amish community that slowed down biological aging, pushing life expectancy to 85 for some people in that community. But there is no evidence the mutation is linked to the consumption of raw milk or the avoidance of vaccines. Wesner said it is unwise to make sweeping generalizations about Amish people because different communities often have distinct backgrounds and practices. The northern Indiana community where the mutation was found had largely Swiss ancestry, but many Amish people are of German or French ancestry . The post’s claim of universal consumption of raw milk is also unproven. Hard data on the consumption of raw milk in Amish communities was not readily available, but Wesner – whose books and website are informed by his travel to Amish communities throughout the U.S. – said he is aware of Amish people buying pasteurized milk in grocery stores, even if it was out of necessity because of a lack of access to raw milk from farmers in the community. Raw milk is controversial because bacteria killed in pasteurization can be found in it . USA TODAY could not reach the social media user who shared the claim for comment. Our fact-check sources Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here . USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta .

TORONTO - Broad-based gains led Canada’s main stock index higher in late-morning trading on Christmas Eve, while U.S. stock markets also rose. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 57.82 points at 24,806.80. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 177.64 points at 43,084.59. The S&P 500 index was up 43.11 points at 6,017.18, while the Nasdaq composite was up 210.74 points at 19,975.62. The Canadian dollar traded for 69.50 cents US compared with 69.47 cents US on Monday. The February crude oil contract was up 91 cents at US$70.15 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was up 13 cents at US$3.48 per mmBTU. The February gold contract was down US$1.10 at US$2,627.10 an ounce and the March copper contract was up two cents at US$4.11 a pound. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

By TRÂN NGUYỄN SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California, home to some of the largest technology companies in the world, would be the first U.S. state to require mental health warning labels on social media sites if lawmakers pass a bill introduced Monday. The legislation sponsored by state Attorney General Rob Bonta is necessary to bolster safety for children online, supporters say, but industry officials vow to fight the measure and others like it under the First Amendment. Warning labels for social media gained swift bipartisan support from dozens of attorneys general, including Bonta, after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to establish the requirements earlier this year, saying social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people. “These companies know the harmful impact their products can have on our children, and they refuse to take meaningful steps to make them safer,” Bonta said at a news conference Monday. “Time is up. It’s time we stepped in and demanded change.” State officials haven’t provided details on the bill, but Bonta said the warning labels could pop up once weekly. Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 say they use a social media platform, and more than a third say that they use social media “almost constantly,” according to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center. Parents’ concerns prompted Australia to pass the world’s first law banning social media for children under 16 in November. “The promise of social media, although real, has turned into a situation where they’re turning our children’s attention into a commodity,” Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who authored the California bill, said Monday. “The attention economy is using our children and their well-being to make money for these California companies.” Lawmakers instead should focus on online safety education and mental health resources, not warning label bills that are “constitutionally unsound,” said Todd O’Boyle, a vice president of the tech industry policy group Chamber of Progress. “We strongly suspect that the courts will set them aside as compelled speech,” O’Boyle told The Associated Press. Victoria Hinks’ 16-year-old daughter, Alexandra, died by suicide four months ago after being “led down dark rabbit holes” on social media that glamorized eating disorders and self-harm. Hinks said the labels would help protect children from companies that turn a blind eye to the harm caused to children’s mental health when they become addicted to social media platforms. “There’s not a bone in my body that doubts social media played a role in leading her to that final, irreversible decision,” Hinks said. “This could be your story.” Common Sense Media, a sponsor of the bill, said it plans to lobby for similar proposals in other states. California in the past decade has positioned itself as a leader in regulating and fighting the tech industry to bolster online safety for children. The state was the first in 2022 to bar online platforms from using users’ personal information in ways that could harm children. It was one of the states that sued Meta in 2023 and TikTok in October for deliberately designing addictive features that keep kids hooked on their platforms. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, also signed several bills in September to help curb the effects of social media on children, including one to prohibit social media platforms from knowingly providing addictive feeds to children without parental consent and one to limit or ban students from using smartphones on school campus. Federal lawmakers have held hearings on child online safety and legislation is in the works to force companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. The legislation has the support of X owner Elon Musk and the President-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr . Still, the last federal law aimed at protecting children online was enacted in 1998, six years before Facebook’s founding.

Shailene Woodley didn’t want to say much about Aaron Rodgers in a new interview, because, she said, reflecting on her relationship with the controversial NFL quarterback “always makes me cry.” During an overnight camping trip in Malibu with a reporter for Outside magazine , the 33-year-old actor and environmentalist also said that her relationship with Rodgers, which reportedly began during the COVID-19 pandemic and ended in February 2022, “was not right.” “But it was beautiful,” she added in the interview published Tuesday. Later in the conversation, Woodley also alluded to how difficult the relationship became and how devastated she was when it ended. She and Rodgers reportedly began dating during the pandemic lockdown in July 2020, around the time he ended his two-year relationship with race car driver Danica Patrick. The revealed their engagement in 2021. “I had a really awful, traumatic thing happen in early 2022,” Woodley told Outside later in the conversation. Yes, the “Divergent” star wasn’t being specific here about the “awful, traumatic thing,” but Outside noted that her engagement to the former Green Bay Packers quarterback was called off that February. “I felt like I lost my soul, my self, my happiness, my joy,” Woodley said. “I really understood depression and anxiety and, like, complete soul detachment.” Woodley also said she chose to remain in a “toxic situation” because she was empathizing with “someone else.” “Empathy,” she says, “kind of kept me in this loop of feeling everything for everyone.” For Outside magazine, the “Big Little Lies” actor was being profiled as the publication’s Outsider of the Year. In a previous interview, Woodley opened up about “the darkest, hardest time in my life,” taking place in the fall of 2021, a time that coincided with the final months of her relationship with Rodgers and when he sparked national controversy by ranting critically about the COVID-19 vaccine. In a 2023 interview with Net-A-Porter’s Porter magazine, Woodley talked about dating “somebody in America who was very, very famous,” without naming Rodgers. In the fall of 2021, she also was filming the series, “Three Women.” But she talked about how it was difficult to focus on her work. “It was winter in New York, and my personal life was (expletive), so it felt like a big pain bubble for eight months,” Woodley said to Porter magazine. “I was so grateful that at least I could go to work and cry and process my emotions through my character,” Woodley said. In early November 2021, Rodgers did serious damage to his public image as a popular NFL star by going on an angry anti-COVID vaccination rant on “The Pat McAfee Show.” The reigning Most Valuable Player was then accused of being an arrogant, narcissistic crackpot with a persecution complex after he claimed he was a victim of “the woke mob” and that the media had launched “a witch hunt” to pin him down on whether he had been vaccinated. Unfortunately for Woodley, she was caught up in Rodgers’ controversy, mainly by coming to his defense in ways that were seen as tone-deaf, given that public health officials had raised serious concerns about the potential harm caused by Rodgers’ anti-vaccination statements in the midst of a global pandemic. Woodley took to social media to post snarky, expletive-laced and even sexually suggestive Instagram defenses of Rodgers. Over the next month, one source close to Woodley and Rodgers told People that they were trying to make their relationship work, while another insider said that they “disagreed on a lot of things,” including politics, but that they tried to keep the peace by not debating those topics. But the likelihood of a split became apparent when the Chico-reared Rodgers failed to thank Woodley or even mention her name when he won his third NFL MVP award in early February 2022. Reports soon followed that they had ended their engagement. Rodgers then appeared again on “The Pat McAfee Show,” during which he said he didn’t regret speaking his mind about the COVID-19 vaccine, but said he regretted how those comments impacted his loved ones. Rodgers, now the embattled quarterback for the losing New York Jets , then apologized directly to Woodley — or “Shai” — and others, saying he was “very sorry” for the blowback they encountered. A year later, Woodley acknowledged to Porter that being in “a quote-unquote ‘famous’ relationship” became difficult. “It honestly never really hit me that millions of people around the world were actually watching these things and paid attention to them,” she said. “I watched (the) scrutiny, opinions, the desire for people to know my life and his life and our life — it just felt violating in a way that, before, it was fun. I’m a very private person, and so I found that any time I posted anything, I instantly felt like I was sharing too much of who I am with people I didn’t necessarily trust.”Drinks Don't miss out on the headlines from Drinks. Followed categories will be added to My News. Coca-Cola has issued a statement after copping huge backlash for creating an AI-generated Christmas commercial that fans labelled “disastrous”. Paying homage to the iconic drink’s 1995 “Holidays Are Coming” campaign, the new 15-second advert depicts a fleet of cherry red trucks driving down a snowy road to deliver ice-cold bottles of Coke to customers in a festively decorated town. But it’s a tiny disclaimer in small print on the video that reads, “created by Real Magic AI,” that has left people outraged. The brand has since defended its use of the controversial technology, stating it was a collaboration between humans and AI. “The Coca-Cola Company has celebrated a long history of capturing the magic of the holidays in content, film, events, and retail activations for decades around the globe,” the spokesperson said. “We are always exploring new ways to connect with consumers and experiment with different approaches. This year, we crafted films through a collaboration of human storytellers and the power of generative AI.” Coca-Cola has responded to backlash over its AI-generated Christmas ad. Picture: Supplied Consumers quite literally weren’t buying it, blasting the ad as a “creepy dystopian nightmare”. “The world is so over if the Christmas Coca-Cola advert is made with AI,” one user wrote on X, per The Independent. “Sad to see this was made with AI generated program,” another added in the YouTube comments. “I feel like I’m watching the death of art and our planet unfold in front of my eyes and no one IRL seems to care.” Others described the video, which has since gone viral for all the wrong reasons on social media as “garbage”, “ugly”, and “lazy”. Plenty of details are ‘off’, including Santa’s hand when holding this Coke bottle. Picture: Supplied But why has this short video sparked so much controversy? Aside from the “unbearably” choppy commercial (there are 10 shots in just 15 seconds), many commentators argued it’s a poor attempt to cheapen labour in the film and technology industry and kill jobs, Forbes reported. The quality of the production doesn’t hit the mark either, according to critics. Plenty of details are “off”, such as the truck wheels gliding across the ground without spinning, and the distinct lack of Santa Claus onscreen, with only his out-of-proportion hand, clutching a Coke bottle, seen. But Jason Zada, the founder of the AI studio Secret Level, one of the three Coca-Cola collaborated with on the project, argued that there is still a human component that creates the “warmth” in the clip. Zada told AdAge that harnessing generative AI for something as complex as a commercial is not as easy as just pressing a button, and Pratik Thakar, Coca-Cola’s vice president and global head of generative AI, explained that the company is bridging its “heritage” with “the future and technology” with the next-gen campaign. Using the technology, he argued, saves money — and, not to mention, time. “More than cost, it’s the speed,” Thakar told the outlet. “Speed is I would say five times, right? And that is a huge benefit. The production time would have taken, traditionally, much longer. So that is a huge benefit.” “And then you can do more, more variety, and more customised and more personalised,” he continued. “And that’s the way to go, with resources, rather than doing less and spending less.” More Coverage ‘Stunning’: Kmart selling $60 item for $15 Rebekah Scanlan ‘Banned’: Aussie couple’s house rule divides Rebekah Scanlan Originally published as Coca-Cola responds to backlash over AI-generated Christmas ad More related stories Drinks Influencer divides with mid-flight act An Australian travelling home from New York took it upon herself to whip up one of the delicacies she tried in the Big Apple. Read more Drinks $19 bottle named one Australia’s best Australia is renowned for making a good drop. But the best wines aren’t always a bargain. This one, a $19 bottle, was just named one of our best. Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers formally asked a judge Monday to throw out his hush money criminal conviction , arguing continuing the case would present unconstitutional “disruptions to the institution of the Presidency.“ In a filing made public Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers told Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan that dismissal is warranted because of the “overwhelming national mandate granted to him by the American people on November 5, 2024.” They also cited President Joe Biden’s recent pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “President Biden asserted that his son was ‘selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,’ and ‘treated differently,’" Trump’s legal team wrote. The Manhattan district attorney, they claimed, had engaged in the type of political theater "that President Biden condemned.” Prosecutors will have until Dec. 9 to respond. They have said they will fight any efforts to dismiss the case but have indicated a willingness to delay the sentencing until after Trump’s second term ends in 2029. In their filing Monday, Trump's attorneys dismissed the idea of holding off sentencing until Trump is out of office as a “ridiculous suggestion.” Following Trump’s election victory last month, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed his sentencing, previously scheduled for late November, to allow the defense and prosecution to weigh in on the future of the case. He also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier. He says they did not and denies any wrongdoing. Taking a swipe at Bragg and New York City, as Trump often did throughout the trial, the filing argues that dismissal would also benefit the public by giving him and “the numerous prosecutors assigned to this case a renewed opportunity to put an end to deteriorating conditions in the City and to protect its residents from violent crime.” Clearing Trump, the lawyers added, would also allow him to “to devote all of his energy to protecting the Nation.” The defense filing was signed by Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who represented Trump during the trial and have since been selected by the president-elect to fill senior roles at the Justice Department. A dismissal would erase Trump’s historic conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Merchan hasn’t set a timetable for a decision. Merchan could also decide to uphold the verdict and proceed to sentencing, delay the case until Trump leaves office, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court or choose some other option. Prosecutors had cast the payout as part of a Trump-driven effort to keep voters from hearing salacious stories about him. Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels. Trump later reimbursed him, and Trump’s company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses — concealing what they really were, prosecutors alleged. Trump has pledged to appeal the verdict if the case is not dismissed. He and his lawyers said the payments to Cohen were properly categorized as legal expenses for legal work. A month after the verdict, the Supreme Court ruled that ex-presidents can’t be prosecuted for official acts — things they did in the course of running the country — and that prosecutors can’t cite those actions to bolster a case centered on purely personal, unofficial conduct. Trump’s lawyers cited the ruling to argue that the hush money jury got some improper evidence, such as Trump’s presidential financial disclosure form, testimony from some White House aides and social media posts made during his first term. Prosecutors disagreed and said the evidence in question was only “a sliver” of their case. If the verdict stands and the case proceeds to sentencing, Trump’s punishments would range from a fine to probation to up to four years in prison — but it’s unlikely he’d spend any time behind bars for a first-time conviction involving charges in the lowest tier of felonies. Because it is a state case, Trump would not be able to pardon himself once he returns to office. Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes.Celtics reportedly interested in trading for $18.6 million dollar Grizzlies wing | Sporting NewsBe Among the First to Experience MEGA Revolution - World's First 70W Intelligent Desktop Engraving Machine