U.S. consumers were less confident in the economy in December as Americans remain anxious about still-high prices and the impact of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 3.8 points to 89.1 in December from November’s upwardly revised reading of 92.9. That reading was 85.7 in April, when Trump rolled out his import taxes on U.S. trading partners. A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market remained stable at 70.7, but remains well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. It was the 11th straight month that reading has come in under 80.

The U.S. economy economy expanded at a strong 4.3% annual rate from July through September as consumer spending, exports and government spending all grew. Tuesday’s report from the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — up from its 3.8% growth rate in the April-June quarter.  Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast growth of 3% in the period. However, inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve would like. The Fed’s favored inflation gauge — called the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — climbed to a 2.8% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.1% in the second quarter.

Ukraine's own "Dancing with the Stars" show is back on, just for one special episode. This time, the stars are the country's wartime heroes, underscoring the nation's resilience in tough times. Before the war, the Ukrainian version of the international franchise was hugely popular. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — then an actor — won the dance competition in 2006, its debut year. Today, dancers in the show perform with prosthetic limbs, showcasing their strength in overcoming adversity. Like the whole country, the show has to deal with wartime challenges such as power outages or generators failing. Creative producer Volodymyr Zavadiuk says "Tantsi z zirkamy" — as the show is known in Ukrainian — is creating something special during tough times.

Nearly six months after a roaring flood killed 25 girls and two counselors at Camp Mystic in central Texas, the 100-year-old camp will begin enrolling new campers in January. The decision is dividing families who've sent their children there. Fast-rising waters swept away two cabins next to the Guadalupe River over the July Fourth weekend. The campers who are expected to start arriving in May will bunk on higher ground. Some families say their daughters' return to Camp Mystic will be a key step in their healing. But others who lost their daughters in the floods say the decision to reopen is insensitive.

A new Department of Health and Human Services report reveals Medicaid programs made over $200 million in improper payments to health care providers between 2021 and 2022 for people who had already died. The inspector general report, released Tuesday, suggests that a new mandate in Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill could help reduce these kind of payments. The bill requires states to audit Medicaid beneficiary lists against the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File. Privacy laws currently restrict access to this file. The report recommends states comply with the new mandate to conduct quarterly death checks to prevent further improper payments.

The oldest baby boomers are turning 80 in 2026. This generation known as a cultural and political vanguard is now contributing to America's aging population. By the end of this decade, all baby boomers will be 65 or older. Driven by longer life spans and lower birth rates, the U.S. population will begin shrinking in five years without any immigration. During the baby boom from 1946 to 1964, about 76 million Americans were born. Now they're the second-largest age group and the influence of these octogenarians will continue to impact America's society and economics.

A former close aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that immediately following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, he was ordered to figure out how the premier could evade responsibility for the security breach. It was an explosive allegation from former spokesperson Eli Feldstein, made during an extensive interview with Israel’s Kan news channel Monday night. Netanyahu has been long accused of avoiding taking the blame for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, one that kicked off the two-year war in Gaza. But little is known about Netanyahu’s behavior in the days immediately following the attack.

Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community is trying to capture some of the Christmas spirit under a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. One 76-year-old Christian finds hope in his faith while sheltering at Gaza's Holy Family Church compound. Attallah Tarazi says joy over Christ’s birth must surpass the bitterness of war. But for some, the toll is inescapable as grief and uncertainty dampen Christmas cheer. Community members say many Christians have fled Gaza during the war. That has raised concerns about the community's future in the Palestinian territory.

Officials say a small Mexican Navy plane transporting a young medical patient along with seven others has crashed near Galveston. The Monday afternoon crash killed at least five people and has set off a search in the waters off the Texas coast. Mexico’s Navy said in a statement to The Associated Press that four of the people aboard were Navy officers and four were civilians. It was not immediately clear which ones were confirmed to be killed. Two of the people aboard were members from the Michou and Mau Foundation. The nonprofit provides aid to Mexican children with suffered severe burns.

The U.S. military says it has conducted another strike against a boat it said was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one person. In a social media post Monday night, U.S. Southern Command said, “Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” A video appears to show a number of strikes landing near and on the boat before it catches fire. Southern Command provided no evidence that the vessel was engaged in drug smuggling. At least 105 people have been killed in 29 known strikes since early September.

The Powerball jackpot now stands at an estimated $1.6 billion and is one of the largest lottery prizes in U.S. history. On Monday the lottery group drew the numbers for the 5th-largest jackpot ever. The record U.S. jackpot is $2.04 billion from back in 2022. The odds of winning Monday’s jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. One math professor says those odds are equivalent to selecting one marked dollar bill from a stack 19 miles high. Players are still hoping to win big. One person says he is buying a $2 ticket to take his wife on a trip. A middle schooler says he wants an Xbox and a Lamborghini.

The head of the U.S. Department of Transportation is calling out Colorado for its slow response to what he describes as major violations of federal commercial driver’s license regulations. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened Monday to pull $24 million in federal funding for the western state if it does not revoke truck and bus licenses that were issued improperly. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said this is a case of “crossed-wires” and that the state is working quickly to revoke these licenses. The federal government has been identifying states where commercial driver’s licenses issued to immigrants have remained valid long after they should have. In other cases, states didn't check the immigration status of drivers before issuing a license.

Florida's Catholic bishops have appealed to President Donald Trump to pause immigration enforcement during the Christmas holidays. Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, along with other bishops, expressed concern about the impact on families and communities. They argue that many immigrants caught in enforcement actions are not criminals but are simply working. The White House, however, indicated in its response that it will continue its usual operations. Wenski is known for advocating humane treatment of migrants and highlights their contributions to the economy. He also participates in initiatives to support the spiritual needs of detainees in immigration centers.

Mercedes-Benz USA and parent company Daimler AG have agreed to pay $149.6 million to settle allegations the automaker secretly installed devices in hundreds of thousands of vehicles to pass emission tests. A coalition of 50 attorneys general announced the deal on Monday. According to the attorneys general, the automaker between 2008 and 2016 equipped more than 211,000 vehicles with devices that controlled emissions during tests but reduced those controls during normal operations. The devices enabled vehicles to exceed legal emission limits for nitrogen oxides, a pollutant that can cause respiratory illnesses and contributes to smog.

The NFL has suspended Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf for two games following an altercation with a fan during the team’s victory over Detroit. Metcalf will miss Sunday’s game in Cleveland and the regular-season finale against Baltimore. CBS-TV cameras captured the confrontation between Metcalf and a fan during the second quarter of Pittsburgh’s 29-24 win over Detroit. The fan leaned over the railing and exchanged words with Metcalf before Metcalf ended the confrontation by swinging his right arm in the vicinity of the fan’s face. It’s unclear how much contact Metcalf’s arm made with the fan.