Pope Leo XIV embraces a Roman tradition by praying for peace at a statue of the Madonna near the Spanish Steps. On Monday, he participated in the Dec. 8 feast day, marking the start of the Christmas season. Thousands gathered to see the American pope's inaugural outing to the statue. Leo received a special honor from the Via Condotti shop owners and offered white roses and a prayer. He spoke of opening doors to peace and reconciliation. Leo will preside over his first Christmas as pope, with traditional Masses and events planned through Epiphany, closing the 2025 Holy Year.

President Donald Trump has linked his administration’s immigration crackdown on Minnesota’s Somali community to fraud cases involving government programs. Trump recently called Minnesota Somalis “garbage” and expressed he didn’t want them in the U.S. This comes as Republicans criticize Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate, for alleged failures in preventing the fraud. It’s a major issue in the 2026 gubernatorial race as Walz seeks a third term. Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S. with about 84,000 residents. The vast majority are American citizens. The fraud cases involve hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

President Donald Trump’s former attorney in battleground Wisconsin is alleging that a judge presiding over his case and that of two other Trump aides charged with felonies related to the 2020 election is guilty of misconduct and must step aside. All three of the former Trump associates asked on Monday that the preliminary hearing in their case set for Dec. 15 be postponed. They are also asking that an evidentiary hearing be held by a judge in another county to examine the allegations of wrongdoing. Details of the alleged misconduct were sealed by the court and not publicly available.

Twelve former FBI agents fired after kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest in Washington have sued to get their jobs back. They say their action had been intended to de-escalate a volatile situation and was not meant as a political gesture. The agents say in their lawsuit filed Monday that they were fired in September by Director Kash Patel because they were perceived as not being politically affiliated with President Donald Trump. But they say their decision to take a knee on June 4, 2020, days after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, has been misinterpreted as political expression. The FBI declined to comment Monday.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s friendly agreement to sell itself to Netflix just got upended by a hostile actor. Paramount made Warner shareholders a higher offer on Monday and touched off what is likely to be a lengthy fight in the latest episode of media industry consolidation. Paramount's all-cash offer is worth about $74.4 billion, while Netflix agreed to buy Warner for $72 billion in cash and stock. Both offers will face regulatory scrutiny, and President Donald Trump has promised to weigh in. Shareholders have until Jan. 8, 2026, to vote on Paramount’s offer.

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett has launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate in Texas. Crockett’s announcement Monday came after fellow Democrat and former Rep. Colin Allred ended his Senate campaign to run for a House seat. Texas is critical to Democrats’ long-shot hopes of reclaiming a Senate majority in next year’s elections, and GOP incumbent John Cornyn is facing the toughest primary race of his 24-year Senate career against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two-term Rep. Wesley Hunt. Crockett still faces state Rep. James Talarico for the Democratic nod. Crockett has a national profile as one of Congress’ most outspoken Democrats and a frequent target of GOP attacks.

President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Alina Habba, announced her resignation as acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey. This decision comes after an appeals court disqualified her from the role. Habba was appointed in March to serve a temporary term. She had no prior federal prosecutorial experience, and New Jersey’s senators opposed her confirmation. In July, a panel of federal judges replaced her with a subordinate. Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the replacement, blaming politically motivated judges. Earlier this month, an appeals court formally disqualified Habba.

Netflix’s deal to acquire Warner Bros. is shaking up the entertainment industry. Warner Bros., one of Hollywood’s oldest studios, is part of the “big five” and plays a key role in theatrical releases. There are many questions about how Netflix’s ownership might change things, including antitrust scrutiny and the future of theatrical releases. Netflix says it plans to support theater releases but may shorten exclusive windows. The impact on movie theaters and filmmakers is uncertain, with concerns about the global exhibition business and reactions from top directors. Paramount on Monday launched a hostile takeover bid.

Moments after Luigi Mangione was put in handcuffs at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, a police officer searching his backpack found a loaded gun magazine wrapped in a pair of underwear. The discovery, recounted in court Monday as Mangione fights to exclude evidence from his state murder case in New York, convinced police in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that he was the man wanted for killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan five days earlier. Christy Wasser, a 19-year veteran of the Altoona police department, testified on the fourth day of a pretrial hearing as Mangione seeks to prevent prosecutors from using the magazine and other evidence she found in the bag, including a 9 mm handgun and a notebook that were located during a later search.

Arizona has taken the top spot in the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll. This comes after a perfect start to the season. Purdue, previously No. 1, dropped to sixth after losing to Iowa State. The Wildcats received 33 of 60 first-place votes, marking their first time at No. 1 since December 2023. Michigan moved up to No. 2, with Duke at No. 3 and Iowa State at No. 4. UConn is at No. 5. The poll saw major changes, with only two teams staying in the same spots as last week.

Pollstar has ranked the top 25 “Most Popular Touring Artists of the Millennium” based on ticket sales from Jan. 1, 2001, to the end of 2025. Leading the list? Coldplay with 24.8 million tickets sold. They’re followed by U2, with 20.2 million tickets sold, and Ed Sheeran, with 19.6 million. Rounding out the top five is Dave Matthews Band with 19.6 million tickets sold. In fifth is Taylor Swift with roughly 18.9 million. Keep in mind that her debut album was released in 2006. Pollstar chart data is pulled from reported and estimated box office data from events that occurred between 2001 and 2025.

The Big Ten has matched the Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball record with nine ranked teams. The conference set the mark last year and has three teams in the top 10 alone. UConn remains No. 1, receiving 23 first-place votes, while Texas is second place with nine votes. The top 10 remains unchanged this week.

Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.

Nominees for the 2026 Golden Globe Awards have been announced. The ceremony, hosted by Nikki Glaser, will take place on January 11 at the Beverly Hilton. In the film categories, “Frankenstein” and “Hamnet” are among the nominees for best motion picture, drama. “Blue Moon” and “Bugonia” are up for best motion picture, musical or comedy. For television, “Abbott Elementary” and “The Bear” are nominated for best comedy or musical series. The awards also include categories for best performances in film and television, as well as achievements in directing, screenwriting, and original music.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are meeting their Australian counterparts for annual talks expected to focus on Indo-Pacific security and countering China’s increasing assertiveness in the region. Rubio, Hegseth, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defense Minister Richard Marles gathered Monday at the State Department. None of them mentioned China by name in their brief comments to reporters before the formal meeting began, but the challenges posed by Beijing have been a central theme of the U.S.-Australia relationship. The four discussed progress in the AUKUS pact, a Biden administration-era agreement under which the U.S., Britain and Australia committed to building nuclear submarines for the Australians.