According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 56 percent of shoppers expect to make Christmas purchases, or have already done so, between December 18 and Christmas Eve. Out of those shoppers, 59 percent are men. In December, popular purchases include clothes (49 percent), toys (31 percent) and gift cards (28 percent), according to NRF, with credit cards being the main method of purchase (46 percent). Are retailers open on Christmas Eve?...

While it may be too early for most, the opening bars of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” or Wham’s “Last Christmas” may be just the tonic some people need to get through the next four months of a global pandemic, race riots, political unrest and a presidential election. The new pop-up station is appropriately titled Magic 100% Christmas, and has been launched by Bauer Media—with more than 120 days still left to go until Christmas Day....

Grassley tweeted on Friday that Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York had, for the second year running, decided on a Senate schedule that will force him to miss his family reunion. The Iowa Republican said that he would need to remain in Washington, D.C., to “fight” the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act instead, although the bill is expected to pass regardless of Republican opposition due to united support from Democrats....

Biden’s Wednesday summit with his Russian counterpart, their first face-to-face, concluded with small gains, including an agreement to return ambassadors to their posts and the forming of task forces to limit cyberattacks. During an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press, host Chuck Todd asked Hill: “Did Putin get more out of [the summit] than we realized?” Ahead of their summit, Biden expressed that his modest goal was to establish a “predictable and relational” rapport with Putin....

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Smith-DeJoseph took $561,777 from the church’s coffers over a five-year period. As the financial secretary of the church, she allegedly opened multiple bank accounts in its name and used funds deposited there for her own benefit. Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina released a statement on the case that outlined the charges against Smith-DeJoseph. In it, he claims that the financial secretary cut checks to herself for both payroll and supply reimbursement from the church’s bank accounts, along with using the accounts she had set up to make unauthorized online purchases....

Cumberland was called for a charge on one of those bang-bang judgment calls that could go either way. A Cincinnati-partisan crowd that made the hour-and-a-half-drive up I-71 to Nationwide Arena unloaded on the refs. The 7-seed Bearcats were up by 10 at that point, but that was a chance to take control of the game. Cincinnati (28-7) never got that moment back again. SN’s MARCH MADNESS HQLive NCAA bracket | Live scoreboard | Full TV schedule​...

The Bearcats, which have finished 9-4 each of the last two seasons under Tommy Tuberville, received 22 of 30 votes to win the championship as part of a preseason poll at AAC Media Day. MORE: Herman’s message at Houston | AAC coach rankings | Preseason Top 25 Cincinnati (179 votes) is favored to win the East Division, followed by Central Florida (135), Temple (116), East Carolina (105), South Florida (53) and Connecticut (42)....

When budding filmmaker and theater worker Patrick J Dennis first posted a picture to Twitter of the sight that greeted him at the end of one recent screening, he could never have known what would come next. Unfortunately, what Dennis shared was an image all too familiar to many movie theater goers: the sight of a back row littered with discarded sodas, popcorn and other assorted snacks. All of which had been left for Dennis and his colleagues to clean up....

MABRY: You’ve argued that the digital revolution threatens the pre-eminence of our greatest cities. How has Sept. 11 affected your views? KOTKIN: I think Sept. 11 will drive the processes more quickly. In the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack, there was a visceral drive for people and businesses to migrate to places where they feel safer. Cities, which have enjoyed a tremendous renaissance in the U.S., in particular–but in some places in Europe as well, like London–will suffer from fears of insecurity....

Callow wants to “deconstruct” the Welles story, see the real man who made himself a myth in cahoots with a pushover press. His book (the first of two volumes) is easily the best Welles biography, orchestrating previous work anti his own six years of research. Callow’s expertise as actor and director gives his accounts of Welles’s work a unique authenticity. He captures the excitement of the “Macbeth” project, including the relationship between the “preppy” Welles and his Macbeth, Jack Carter, with whom Welles visited the fleshpots of Harlem....

“Go ask somebody else” “If you think the bus is slow, get off” “I don’t care who you tell” “Don’t ask if you won’t buy” “You eat like a pig” “I don’t have change. Go find some yourself” “Get to the back of the line.”

“These revelations are truly shocking and proof positive that we need a code of ethics for the United States Supreme Court,” Blumenthal said, according to Robert Costa of CBS News. “The Supreme Court cannot be treated differently than other federal courts.” Clarence Thomas has ruled in favor of former President Donald Trump in cases that have come before the Supreme Court, including when he was the lone dissenting justice in a January case that led to documents from the administration being turned over to the House committee....

The Flyers captain is expected to be on the move before the March 21 deadline. He is in the final year of his eight-year, $66.2 million contract with Philadelphia and with the Flyers not making the playoffs, it’s an opportunity for the Flyers to gain some assets while Giroux gets a shot at a Stanley Cup. The forward can play both center and wing and is excellent at both ends of the ice....

“I just want to make sure I’m at the right press conference here,” the Tigers’ head coach said while meeting with reporters postgame. “We did win the game, I think. Am I in the right spot? You don’t usually score 47 points if you don’t have the right energy. “We made some mistakes. It’s not energy when you don’t make a certain play, or snap the ball over a head....

Bryant exited Clemson’s game in the second quarter after getting driven into the ground by Auburn defensive lineman Dontavius Russell. MORE: Week 2 primetime highlights Bryant was only absent for one drive, in which he was replaced by redshirt-freshman Zerrick Cooper, who ran once for no yards and competed 1 of 2 passes for 4 yards. Bryant came back on the ensuing drive, completing 6 of 9 passes for 79 yards....

“Big John,” as he’s known in the Michigan district he’s represented in Congress for 52 years, has agreed to brief a group of women from the International Women’s Forum about global warming. He chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is charged with writing legislation to curb greenhouse gases. His wife, Debbie Dingell, is a member of the IWF, and she arranged the session, although she’s not present, because she’s an executive with General Motors....

“Suits on the ground,” Murtha harrumphed. The video clip of this exchange got a hundred thousand hits on YouTube at a time last year when the Republicans were calling Democrats terrorist-coddlers and defeatists. A more recent video of Pennsylvania Rep. Patrick Murphy calling for a moment of silence to mark the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War—and to honor the 19 members of the 82nd Airborne unit he served in who didn’t make it home—has gotten 13,000 hits....

This could have implications for global warming, because water in the soil plays an important role in storing carbon dioxide—the most important greenhouse gas. Increases in CO2 in the atmosphere are helping to warm the planet due to its heat-trapping effect. Climate change is expected to bring increased rainfall to certain regions of the world, which, along with other environmental changes, could lead to less infiltration of water into the soil, the researchers say....

Given the nastiness of the breakup, why, just a few years later, would Denise Rich throw herself into a yearlong crusade to help win a pardon for her estranged ex-husband? That’s just one of the questions frustrating investigators on Capitol Hill, who have spent weeks trying to unravel the motivations, and money, behind Bill Clinton’s last-minute pardon of Rich and several others. They are especially baffled about why Denise Rich’s friend, Democratic fund-raiser Beth Dozoretz, worked so hard for Marc Rich’s pardon, visiting the White House dozens of times and repeatedly appealing to Clinton....

First, he wears out his White House aides as he makes every decision–even the most obscure-during last-minute, late-night skull sessions on his mammoth economic plan. Then he ad-libs his way through an hour-long address to Congress, exhibiting an almost giddy relish for the game of legislation. Then he unveils his $700 billion deficit-reduction package, an artfully balanced and numerically slippery contraption with one central message: government, if it can only discipline itself and get the largest tax increase in history, stands ready to help you and your children....