Biggest news you missed this weekend
Pop icon George Michael dies
George Michael, the British singer, musician and founding member of Wham!, died over the Christmas holiday. He was 53. His publicist said the star died "peacefully at home" in Goring, England. Reports point to heart failure as the cause. Michael sold more than 100 million albums globally, earned numerous Grammy Awards and recorded duets with Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Luciano Pavarotti and Elton John, among others.
Wreckage of crashed jet found in Black Sea
Wreckage from the Russian jet that crashed Sunday in the Black Sea killing 92 people has been found, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday. Pilot error or a technical fault — but not terrorism — were likely to have caused the crash, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said in a statement. The Russian military’s Tu-154 aircraft crashed two minutes after takeoff Sunday from the southern city of Sochi en route to Syria, the Associated Press said.
Christmas celebrated around the world
Christmas Day celebrations included a call by Pope Francis for peace and an end to terrorism, as well as a traditional holiday meal for hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq who are fighting the Islamic State. During his traditional Christmas Day address, Pope Francis wished peace for people scarred by wars and for those who have lost loved ones to terrorism. The day before, a dozen U.S. soldiers joined about 100 Iraqi soldiers and generals at a Christmas Eve Mass in Bartella, Iraq, at a church that had been torched by Islamic State militants. The military contingent joined a show of solidarity with 300 Christians who had been bused in for the holiday after cleaning and sprucing up the church, the Associated Press reported.
Actress Carrie Fisher 'stable' after cardiac arrest
On Christmas, Debbie Reynolds shared that her daughter, Carrie Fisher, who suffered a heart attack Friday, is "stable." Fisher, best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars film franchise, was hospitalized Friday after multiple outlets reported she went into cardiac arrest as her flight from London landed in Los Angeles. TMZ reported an EMT on the plane administered CPR before landing, and Fisher, 60, was rushed by paramedics to the UCLA Medical Center. Over the weekend, Fisher remained in an intensive care unit, according to her brother.
Trump plans to shutter charitable foundation
President-elect Donald Trump said he is shuttering his controversial charitable foundation, a subject of intense criticism over how it collects and dispenses money. "To avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as president, I have decided to continue to pursue my strong interest in philanthropy in other ways," Trump said in a statement issued Christmas Eve. The Donald J. Trump Foundation is under investigation by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The probe was prompted in part by a series of reports in The Washington Post outlining its dealings, including instances in which Trump apparently used charity money to settle lawsuits involving his for-profit businesses. The New York AG's office said the foundation cannot be dissolved until its probe is completed.
NFL playoff picture coming into focus
Only two NFL playoff spots are still up for grabs after this weekend's action — and both are in the NFC. The AFC playoff teams are set (even if their final seeds are not): it's the New England Patriots, the Oakland Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Houston Texans, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins. The Raiders were flying high as the No. 2 seed before they saw quarterback Derek Carr go down with a broken leg Sunday vs. the Colts. Now, they might not even win the AFC West and must turn to backup QB Matt McGloin to keep the momentum going.
Boko Haram forced out of last enclave
Nigeria’s president said Saturday that his forces had crushed the notorious Boko Haram extremist group and driven them out of their forest encampment — but have yet to locate scores of Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the militants in 2014. The mass abductions sparked international outcry, and prompted the social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls. President Muhammadu Buhari’s victorious announcement indicated Nigerian forces still need to remain vigilant to fight off individual suicide bombings, village attacks and assaults on remote military outposts by remnants of the homegrown Islamist group.
Contributing: The Associated Press