UK - The Independent

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1. Ashes 2025 live score: England finish first innings on 286 as Australia return to bat

   The tourists finished the first innings on 286 and trail by 85 runs as the hosts return for their second innings

2. Who are the Palestine Action supporters on hunger strike?

   Those on hunger strikes have been denied bail and are due to go on trial next year at the earliest

3. Coast Guard drops references to swastikas and nooses being 'potentially divisive'

   References in U.S. Coast Guard policy calling hate symbols “potentially divisive” have been removed

4. Majority say they plan to spend less on holiday gifts this year because of economic concerns

   Americans plan to spend less on gifts this festive season as they continue to feel the pinch

5. A lighter Santa’s sleigh: Two out of five Americans plan to spend less this holiday season amid economic uncertainty

   Around a third of Americans think the US economy will get worse in 2026

6. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth tells military recruiters many young Americans are ‘too fat’ or ‘too dumb’ to serve

   Recruiting has been rebounding from a low ebb during the pandemic, according to data

7. Prosecutors ask US Supreme Court to restore conviction in Etan Patz missing child case

   Prosecutors are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate a murder conviction in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz

8. Sliders from Ukraine and Russia will start consecutively at World Cup luge race at Lake Placid

   Ukrainian and Russian athletes are set to compete side by side in a World Cup men's luge race on Saturday

9. The contactless payment change that could be good news for shoppers

   These regulatory changes are scheduled to commence on March 19, though individual firms will decide when to adopt the flexibility

10. Ambulance workers ‘fear being attacked’ over Christmas period: ‘A gruelling, relentless struggle’

    The GMB publicised its findings on the last Friday before Christmas, one of the busiest nights of the year for ambulance and hospital workers