By NICHOLAS COMINO, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: 02:19 GMT, 31 December 2025 | Updated: 05:11 GMT, 31 December 2025

Thousands of people have joined massive queues around Sydney Harbour ahead of the world-famous New Year’s Eve fireworks – with some setting up camp at 4am. 

The gates to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, the city’s most sought-after vantage point, opened at 9.30am, sparking a frantic stampede. 

By dawn, more than 2,000 people were queuing, some having camped overnight to secure front-row seats for the midnight show.

Once the gates opened, the foreshore became a kilometre-long racetrack with people dragging picnic rugs and eskies in the scramble for territory.

International visitors were also swept up in the excitement.

‘I live in Germany, I’ve never experienced anything like this,’ one tourist told the ABC.

Sydney Harbour is set to host over a million spectators tonight, with tens of thousands already packed into viewing areas long before sunset.

Mrs Macquarie’s Chair remains Sydney’s ‘crown jewel’ for New Year’s Eve, offering iconic views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

People have been queuing since 4am to get a front row seat for Sydney’s firework display

 Revellers were seen running with chairs and blankets once gates opened at 9:30am 

People were seen queuing up outside Mrs Macquarie’s Chair since Thursday 

Extra security measures are in place across the Sydney CBD following the Bondi Beach attack

‘We’re expecting big crowds in the city tonight – more than a million people coming to join in the celebrations,’ NSW Transport Minister John Graham said. 

To manage the influx, Graham announced a huge transport operation.

‘More than 1,000 extra services are going to be in place, that’s a 40 per cent uplift on a normal day,’ he said. 

He confirmed public transport will run continuously for 46 hours, with Metro trains expected to clear crowds ‘in about half the time it would usually take’.

Premier Chris Minns urged families to enjoy the festivities despite the lingering impact of the Bondi Beach terror attack, which left 15 people dead on December 14.

‘We can’t be in a situation where this horrible criminal terrorist event changes the way we live in our beautiful city. We have to show defiance,’ he said. 

He also reassured Sydneysiders about security.

‘Police are on high alert. Transport is ramping up. There is a massive logistical exercise, with tens of thousands of public servants keeping you safe,’ he said. 

More than 2000 people were queuing to go into Mrs Macquarie’s Chair before 9am

The Sydney Harbour front vantage points have been taken up and filled by NYE revellers 

Crowds have filled the best spots to view the New Years fireworks in Royal Botanic Gardens

Huge queues were seen at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney

The aftermath of the Bondi massacre has led to unprecedented police measures across Sydney. 

‘There’ll be a number of heavily armed officers deployed across metropolitan Sydney… They’ll be operational and highly visible,’ Minns confirmed.

He explained that new protocols mean armed officers will mingle with the crowd.

‘If you see a heavily armed officer, it doesn’t mean there’s an active operation. It means they’re there in preparation for any eventuality. We want the community to see police and know they can enjoy the night without fear.’

The citywide operation will include riot squads, PolAir helicopters, dog units and marine police. 

Details around tactical changes remain secret.   

‘We’re not going to be cowered by terrorism,’ Minns said. 

‘The best way to demonstrate defiance is to live your life and get some joy out of New Year’s Eve, safe in the knowledge that thousands of officers are protecting you.’

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New Year’s Eve chaos kicks off as huge crowds swarm to snag spots for Sydney’s iconic fireworks – with some queuing since 4am for a front row seat

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The Met Office has a weather warning in place for snow and ice for Thursday and Friday, by which time some 30cm (11 inches) could build, and says travel disruption is expected

The weather map turns blue this week as it is getting colder(Image: Ventusky)

This striking weather map is an icy blue as daytime temperatures will feel as cold as -12C this week.

Temperatures are set to drop as a northerly wind takes hold later this week. It sends snow sweeping southwards throughout Friday and into Saturday, heaviest across Scotland and north Wales at different times.

The Met Office says some 11 inches (30cm) of snow will build up by the early hours of Saturday, which will lead to travel disruption and power cuts. Air temperatures will actually range from 4C to -4C across the UK but it will feel significantly colder everywhere, particularly due to the gales.

Winds will be fiercest along the east coast on Friday morning, particularly across Humberside and Cleveland. Saturday’s gales will be even stronger, as brutal as 65mph, in and around Scarborough and Bridlington.

READ MORE: UK snow: Met Office forecasts up to 11 INCHES of the white stuff amid Arctic blastREAD MORE: Narrowboats still stranded on Shropshire Union Canal one week after sinkhole chaosSnowy scenes are pictured in Knutsford, Cheshire(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

Weather maps, issued by the Metdesk, show it will snow heavily across the UK on Friday. The weather warning concerns parts of Scotland, such as Grampian, Strathclyde and Central, Tayside and Fife. These areas will see snow fall throughout the early hours of Friday.

It will then move southwards and, by 6am, it will snow across parts of the Midlands and Northwest of England. Cheshire will see a significant dumping, as will parts of Staffordshire during Friday morning. Snow will be widespread later on Friday morning with heavy snowfall in north Wales, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire by midday.

Snow will fall across parts of the Northwest of England and the Midlands on Friday morning(Image: Ventusky)

The band of low pressure quickly moves further southeast and, by early afternoon, residents in Essex and parts of Kent will suffer travel disruption due to snow and ice. The Home Counties, including Buckinghamshire, will see a dusting by late afternoon. During the early hours of Saturday, there will be flurries of snow across south Wales, according to forecasters at Metdesk.

The Met Office has warned Brits of “a chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces” and that “untreated pavements and cycle paths might be impassable” due to snow and ice on Friday. It says: “Showers will turn increasingly to snow through Thursday as a strong, perhaps locally gale force northerly wind sets in. Initially accumulations will mainly affect higher routes, but by evening some accumulations will start to build even to low levels, with 2 to 5, locally 10 cm of lying snow accumulating by Friday morning.

Children will get chance to enjoy the snow at the start of 2026(Image: Daily Mirror)

“Above 200m some places could see 10-20cm of snow accumulate, and on the highest routes and hills, 30cm or more may build through this period. Given the strength of the wind some significant drifting of snow is likely. Lightning may well be an additional hazard.”

The weather agency continues: “Snowy, wintry weather can cause delays and make driving conditions dangerous, so to keep yourself and others safe: plan your route, checking for delays and road closures, amending your travel plans if necessary; if driving, leave more time to prepare and check your car before setting off; make sure you have essentials packed in your car in the event of any delays (warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de-icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger).”

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While a western German city slept through the Christmas holidays, thieves drilled into a bank vault and vanished with millions.

Robbers broke into a vault at a savings bank in western Germany during the Christmas holidays, stealing cash, gold and jewellery estimated to be worth up to $105m, the police and the bank said.

According to police on Tuesday, the perpetrators used a large drill to bore through a thick concrete wall of a branch of Sparkasse bank in the city of Gelsenkirchen, in North Rhine-Westphalia state. Breaking in from an adjacent parking garage, the thieves gained access to an underground vault room and forced open more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes.

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Thomas Nowaczyk, a police spokesperson, said investigators believe the total value of the stolen items could range between 10 and 90 million euros ($11.7m and $105.7m).

Police and concerned bank customers stand in front of a branch of the Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany, on December 30, 2025, after the bank was robbed [AFP]

German news agency dpa reported that the robbery may rank among the biggest in the country’s history.

Sparkasse confirmed that the branch had been “broken into over the Christmas holidays”, saying that “more than 95 percent of the 3,250 customer safe deposit boxes were broken into by unknown perpetrators”.

The crime is believed to have taken place while businesses were closed for the extended Christmas break. Police suspect the gang may have remained inside the building for several days, using the long holiday weekend to break into the deposit boxes undetected.

The theft only came to light in the early hours of Monday, when a fire alarm was triggered. Emergency responders who arrived at the scene discovered the hole leading into the vault.

Witnesses later told police they had seen several men carrying large bags through the parking garage stairwell overnight between Saturday and Sunday.

Security camera footage also showed a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage early on Monday morning, with masked individuals inside. The vehicle was later identified as having a licence plate belonging to a car stolen in Hanover, more than 200km (124 miles) northeast of Gelsenkirchen.

Ocean’s Eleven-esque

A police spokesman described the operation as highly organised, comparing it with a Hollywood-style robbery resembling Ocean’s Eleven.

The break-in was “indeed very professionally executed”, he told the AFP news agency.

“A great deal of prior knowledge and/or a great deal of criminal energy must have been involved to plan and carry this out,” he added.

Emergency responders discovered a giant hole in the wall of the bank’s vault after unknown thieves broke into a Sparkasse bank branch during the Christmas holidays [Handout: Police Gelsenkirchen via AFP]

Police said the average insured value of each deposit box was more than 10,000 euros ($11,700). However, officers said several victims had reported that the contents of their boxes were worth significantly more than the insured amount.

On Tuesday, hundreds of customers gathered outside the bank, demanding answers. The branch remained closed for security reasons after threats were reportedly made against staff.

“I couldn’t sleep last night. We’re getting no information,” one man told the Welt broadcaster, saying he had used the safe deposit box for 25 years and stored his retirement savings there.

Nowaczyk, the police spokesperson, said officers remained at the scene to monitor the situation. “We’re still on site, keeping an eye on things,” he said, adding that “the situation has calmed down considerably”.

The bank said it had set up a hotline for affected customers and would contact them in writing as soon as possible. It added that it was working with insurers to determine how compensation claims would be handled.

“We are shocked,” said bank press spokesperson Frank Krallmann. “We are standing by our customers, and hope that the perpetrators will be caught.”

Police said the suspects remain at large, and investigations are ongoing.

A spokesperson for the Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Ten English fire services tackled a record number of grassland, woodland and crop fires during what was the UK’s hottest spring and summer on record, figures show.

In total nearly 27,000 wildfires were dealt with by fire services in England during the prolonged dry weather of 2025, according to analysis by PA Media.

One fire chief said the summer was one of the most challenging that crews had ever faced and the frequency and intensity of the wildfires was putting a strain on resources.

The figures, obtained through freedom of information requests, show that at least 12,454 grassland, woodland or crop fires were recorded by fire services in England in the three months from March to May 2025.

This is more than four times the 2,621 incidents logged by these services in the same period in 2024 and is the highest spring total for more than a decade.

Dorset and Wiltshire fire service recorded 298 incidents between March and May, its highest number for spring since comparable data began in 2011, followed by 459 in June to August during a summer that was “one of the most challenging for wildfires that we’ve ever faced”, according to the service’s chief fire officer, Andy Cole.

It was one of 10 fire services that reported a record number of grassland, woodland and crop fires in the spring, according to the analysis.

Others include Tyne and Wear, which reported 1,240 such fires, Durham and Darlington (719), Derbyshire (334) and Northumberland (309).

At least 14,448 grassland, woodland and crop fires were recorded in England in June to August, one of the highest summer totals in recent years, though not as many as in 2022 (20,858) when a spell of very hot weather pushed temperatures in the UK above 40C for the first time, with 40.3C recorded at Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

The highest UK temperature recorded in 2025 was 35.8C in Faversham, Kent. Overall, the Met Office said it was the UK’s warmest spring and summer on record.

Spring was also the driest in the UK for more than 100 years and it was the combination of dry soils, little or no rain and above-average heat that sparked so many wildfires.

The figures inevitably underestimate the true scale of the outbreaks, as full data was obtained from only 35 of the 43 mainland fire services in England.

A fire on Holt Heath near Bournemouth in Dorset in August was declared a major incident and took nearly a week to extinguish fully. Believed to have been started deliberately, it destroyed 72 hectares and required support from services across the UK.

Cole said: “Our firefighters worked around the clock in arduous conditions, often for days at a time, to protect lives, homes, and our natural environment.” He said the increased frequency and intensity of wildfires put “a strain on resources, such as equipment and finances”.

West Yorkshire fire service recorded 1,094 grassland, woodland and crop fires in the spring, six times the number in 2024, with a further 1,156 incidents in the summer.

Mick Rhodes, the wildfire lead at West Yorkshire, said: “Moorland fires can burn for days and require a huge response operationally – they’re also exhausting for our firefighters who tackle them, due to the often-remote nature and hot weather that accompany them.”

Kate Saint, the head of prevention at Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service, said there was a “significant increase” in wildfires in 2025, with crews showing “exceptional bravery and professionalism in challenging conditions, using specialist training and equipment to respond quickly and limit damage”.

“Preventing these incidents in the first place is the most effective way to protect lives and our landscapes,” she added, as “many wildfires are avoidable and are often caused by everyday activities such as discarded cigarettes, barbecues or fires not properly extinguished.”

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EPA

People’s New Year’s Eve plans thrown into disarray after Eurostar cancellations.

Eurostar passengers are braced for more possible disruption, after a power outage in the Channel Tunnel caused travel chaos for thousands of people on Tuesday.

As people scrambled to get to New Year’s Eve celebrations, some travellers said they spent more than six hours stuck onboard trains overnight as services were hit by more delays.

One man told the BBC he had boarded the 19:01 service to Paris, but as of 03:00 GMT he was still stuck on the train at the entrance to the tunnel.

He said staff had told him there was a “50% chance we go to Paris, 50% chance we go back to London”.

“I guess my new year plan is in the hands of the tunnel operators now,” the 27-year-old Parisian said.

Eurostar said it planned to run all of its services on Wednesday but warned there may still be some delays and cancellations.

The service from London to Paris scheduled for 06:00 GMT has been cancelled.

The problem with the overhead power supply and a broken down LeShuttle train blocked all routes on Tuesday, causing disruptions for thousands trying to get away for New Year’s Eve.

Some Eurostar and LeShuttle services had resumed on Tuesday evening, but delays remained, with only one of the tunnel’s two rail lines open.

Getlink, which runs the Channel Tunnel, said work continued through the night to fix the power issue.

On Wednesday morning, an update on Eurostar’s website said: “Services have resumed today following a power issue in the Channel Tunnel yesterday and some further issues with rail infrastructure overnight.

“We plan to run all of our services today, however due to knock-on impacts there may still be some delays and possible last-minute cancellations.

“Please check for live updates on the status of your train on the train status and timetables page.”

Dennis van der Steen, from the Netherlands, was heading home to Amsterdam to spend New Year’s Eve with his family and friends.

Instead he said he spent six hours stuck on board a Eurostar train, before it began to move again at about 03:00 GMT.

“We’re stuck,” he told the BBC.

He said there was no power onboard the train when it stopped, and that some passengers slept while others were “also very worried”. He was later told his train would continue on its journey.

Another passenger described feeling a “rollercoaster of emotions” for hours, not knowing whether the train he was on would be able to continue across the Channel or return to London.

His train eventually made it to Brussels, he said, adding: “Glad to be home, saw many families stranded.”

Kelly North and Bethany Massey-Chase tell the BBC how they’ve had to re-book their Eurostar service to Paris

Images of massive crowds of travellers stranded at London St Pancras International flooded social media following Tuesday’s power outage.

A photograph shared with the BBC by a train driver for Eurostar appeared to show overhead electrical cables strewn across the tracks.

Meanwhile, cars that had hoped to use the Channel Tunnel caused traffic jams near the LeShuttle Terminal in Folkestone.

Tim Brown, who had been trying to return to the UK after spending Christmas in Germany, told PA News he had been stuck in his car on the LeShuttle train for more than three hours with “no access to food or water”.

At least a dozen Eurostar services between the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands had been cancelled by midday on Tuesday.

The rail operator apologised and said passengers could rearrange their plans free of charge or can cancel their booking and get a refund or an e-voucher.

On Tuesday, Eurostar has urged its customers “to rebook their journey for another day if possible, with free exchanges available”.

“We also advise customers not to come to our stations if their trains have been already been cancelled.”

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Skip next section Ukraine launches drone attack on Russia, officials say

12/31/2025December 31, 2025

Ukraine launches drone attack on Russia, officials say

Ukraine has bombarded different parts of Russia with a barrage of drones, Russian authorities said.

Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed over the Moscow region, parts of western Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense units destroyed 27 Ukrainian drones in the three-hour period starting at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT).

No immediate reports of damage were available.

In a residential area in the Black Sea port of Tuapse, the regional administration said port infrastructure and a gas pipeline were damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack.

The operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region said the attack damaged the port’s berth, adding that emergency crews were dispatched to repair the damage.

https://p.dw.com/p/569Ba

Skip next section Welcome to our coverage12/31/2025December 31, 2025

Welcome to our coverage

Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on several parts of Russia, including the Moscow region, Russian officials said.

It comes a day after Moscow accused Kyiv of carrying out a drone attack targeting one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residences, without providing evidence.

Kyiv has dismissed the allegations as baseless and aimed at derailing peace talks in the war that Russia launched against Ukraine nearly four years ago.

This blog will bring you the latest headlines, videos and analyses on the topics.

https://p.dw.com/p/569BR

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Putin raises stakes in peace talks with boast of Oreshnik missiles in Belarus

Russia boasted it had deployed nuclear-capable missiles inside Belarus on Tuesday as Vladimir Putin sought to escalate tensions over Ukraine – just as peace talks appeared to be gaining momentum.

The intermediate-range Oreshnik missiles can reach speeds of up to Mach 10 and are immune to interceptions, according to Putin; Russia’s missile forces chief, Sergei Karakayev, previously claimed the weapons “can strike targets across the entire territory of Europe”.

Tensions between the countries have soared after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking Putin’s personal residence with 91 drones.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar31 December 2025 04:10

Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles moved into Belarus

Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has officially entered active service, the country’s defence ministry has announced, as diplomatic efforts continue to seek a resolution to Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine.

The deployment of the advanced weapon system took place in neighbouring Belarus, its neighbouring ally, which also shares a border with Nato countries Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

While the ministry confirmed the activation, it refrained from disclosing the number of missiles deployed or providing further specific details regarding the system’s capabilities or location within Belarus.

This move follows earlier remarks by Russian president Vladimir Putin in December, who stated the Oreshnik would be combat-ready this month.

During a meeting with senior Russian military officials, Putin had warned that Moscow intended to expand its territorial gains in Ukraine should Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands during peace negotiations.

Moscow first used the Oreshnik, which is Russian for “hazelnut tree,” against Ukraine in November 2024, when it fired the experimental weapon at a factory in Dnipro that built missiles when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.

Putin has praised the Oreshnik’s capabilities, saying that its multiple warheads, which plunge toward a target at speeds up to Mach 10, are immune to being intercepted.

He warned the West that Moscow could use it against Ukraine’s Nato allies, who’ve allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.

(Russian Defense Ministry Press Service)

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar31 December 2025 03:20

Russian port, gas pipeline in Tuapse hit by Ukrainian drones

A Ukrainian drone attack damaged port infrastructure and a gas pipeline in a residential area in Russia’s Black Sea port of Tuapse, the regional administration said this morning, adding no injuries were reported.

Emergency crews were dispatched to repair the damage, the operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region said on Telegram. The port’s berth had been damaged, it added.

SHOT, a Telegram news channel with sources in Russia’s security services, said a series of explosions was heard over Tuapse late last night and that residents in one district reported a fire.

Several Ukrainian media, including the RBC-Ukraine media outlet, posted photos on Telegram appearing to show a large fire burning in the distance at night, with a communications mast silhouetted in the foreground.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar31 December 2025 03:05

US ambassador to NATO casts doubt on Russian drone attack claims

Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, cast doubt on Russia’s claim that Ukraine attacked President Vladimir Putin’s residence on Tuesday.

“It is unclear whether it actually happened,” Whitaker told Fox Business “Varney & Co.”

“It seems to me a little indelicate to be this close at a peace deal, Ukraine really wanting to get a peace deal done, and then to do something that would be viewed as reckless or not helpful,” he said.

Whitaker said that he wants to see U.S. intelligence on the incident.

James Reynolds31 December 2025 03:00

Europe backs Ukraine over Russia’s drone attack allegations

Europe rallied behind Ukraine on Tuesday over Russia’s unproven accusations that Kyiv had assaulted the presidential residence in Novgorod with drones overnight into Monday.

The German government said it shares Ukraine’s worry that the allegations could be used for further escalation.

A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron also said that there was no evidence to corroborate the accusations made by the Russian authorities.

“Ukraine and its partners are committed to a path of peace, while Russia has chosen to continue and intensify its war against Ukraine. This is in itself an act of defiance against President Trump’s peace agenda,” the source told Reuters.

James Reynolds31 December 2025 02:00

This mysterious ‘drone attack’ shows paranoid Putin will never be a peacemaker

Reports of an unlikely aerial raid on Putin’s residence remind us that the Russian president sees endless conflict and confusion as the best means to control, says MARK ALMOND – he fears victory over Ukraine almost as much as defeat:

James Reynolds31 December 2025 01:00

Putin raises stakes in peace talks with boast of Oreshnik missiles in Belarus

Russia said on Tuesday that it had deployed nuclear-capable missiles inside Belarus as Vladimir Putin sought to escalate tensions over Ukraine.

The latest threat came after the Kremlin accused Ukraine of targeting the Russian presidential residence in Novgorod without providing evidence – something Kyiv dismissed as “lies” intent on undermining progress in peace talks.

James Reynolds31 December 2025 00:00

Russia claims Ukraine striking Moscow

Russia is now claiming that Ukraine launched a series of drone attacks against Moscow on Tuesday.

Authorities said one person was injured near the capital.

Russia’s air defence units destroyed a total of 27 Ukrainian drones over three hours from 5pm GMT, according to the defence ministry.

It comes just a day after Russia accused Ukraine, without providing evidence, of trying to attack President Vladimir Putin’s residence – something US and European officials have expressed doubt over.

James Reynolds30 December 2025 23:42

Are Ukraine and the US any closer to a workable peace deal?

Natia Seskuria, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) thinks not.

She told The Independent following the latest talks in Florida: “I believe it is premature, and in many ways exaggerated, to suggest that the parties are genuinely closer to peace when the most critical questions – above all the territorial settlement-remain unresolved.

“The core issue of the future of the occupied territories, including the remaining parts of the Donbas region under Ukrainian control, lacks any clarity, which severely limits how much weight can be attached to talk of ‘progress.’

“There is also no clear evidence that President Trump is exerting serious pressure on Russia to make substantive concessions, whereas Russian officials have repeatedly reaffirmed their determination to secure control over the entire Donbas region – a concession that Kyiv has consistently described as a red line it cannot cross.

“There has been some degree of progress on other problematic issues, such as the framework for security guarantees, but as long as the territorial question remains unresolved, it can easily derail the entire process.”

James Reynolds30 December 2025 23:24

Watch: Trump reacts to unproven claims of attacks on Putin’s residence

Trump reacts to claims of drone strike on Putin’s home

James Reynolds30 December 2025 23:01

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NEED TO KNOW

• In the hours following the death of Caroline Kennedy’s daughter Tatiana Schlossberg, President Donald Trump took to social media to mock the famous political family
• On Truth Social on the afternoon of Dec. 30, Trump shared screenshots of MAGA supporters insulting the Kennedys for their response to his recent decision to add his own name to the Kennedy Center
• Members of the family have claimed that Trump is barred from renaming the center “by federal law,” however, work crews have already added his name above JFK’s on the historic memorial site

As the Kennedys mourned the untimely death of Tatiana Schlossberg — the daughter of Caroline Kennedy and granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy — Donald Trump took to social media to share posts mocking the famous family.

Tatiana, the middle child of Caroline Kennedy and her husband, Edwin Schlossberg, died on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at age 35, just over a month after publicly sharing that she had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

The news was shared by the social media accounts for the JFK Library Foundation, on behalf of Tatiana’s family, which included her husband, Dr. George Moran, and their young children, Edwin and Josephine.

“Our beautiful Tatiana passed away this morning. She will always be in our hearts,” read the post, which was signed by “George, Edwin and Josephine Moran, Ed, Caroline, Jack, Rose and Rory.”

Trump did not directly mention Tatiana’s death in his social media deluge following her death. Instead, he shared screenshots of MAGA supporters mocking the famous political family for their recent responses to his decision to add his name to the Kennedy Center, a historic performance venue in Washington, D.C., which was dedicated as a memorial to JFK following his assassination in Dallas, Texas, in 1963.

“The Kennedy Family have LONG neglected the Kennedy Center, btw,” claimed one. “They don’t raise money for it. They never show up. And the only Kennedy who has been there recently is a member of Trump’s cabinet.”

“The Trumps have always been supporters of the arts. The Kennedys are supporters of the Kennedys,” read another.

Work crews add Donald Trump’s name to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 18, 2025.

Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Thursday, Dec. 18, that the board of the historic venue had “voted unanimously” to rename the building to the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” The following day, work crews added “The Donald Trump and” above the previously-existing lettering, which read, “The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

However, controversy quickly arose among members of the Kennedy Center board and the family itself. Tatiana’s brother, Jack Schlossberg, wrote on X that “microphones were muted” during the conference call where the board voted, and the outcome was “NOT unanimous.”

Jack’s claim aligned with comments made by Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, who serves as an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board. Following the vote, Beatty took to X with allegations that she and other opponents of the vote were muted on the call and were not allowed to vote their differing opinions.

“For the record. This was not unanimous. I was muted on the call and not allowed to speak or voice my opposition to this move,” Beatty, 75, wrote. “Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship.”

In her video message, she continued, “Clearly the Congress has a say in this. This center, the Kennedy Center, was created by the Congress. I think it’s important for us to know that this is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say.”

Other Kennedys have approached the matter from a legal standpoint. “The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law,” wrote Joe Kennedy III, the grandson of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. “It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”

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The Kennedys have yet to respond to Trump’s latest attacks. The only family members who have posted to social media in the hours following Tatiana’s death have been those sharing loving tributes, like Caroline’s cousin, Maria Shriver, who was directly mocked in some of Trump’s screenshots.

“I return to this space today to pay tribute to my sweet, beloved Tatiana, who left this earth today,” Shriver wrote on X. “I return to this space to pay tribute and honor her loving and supportive family, who came together and did everything they possibly could do to help her. I return to this space heartbroken because Tatiana loved life. She loved her life, and she fought like hell to try to save it.”

“I cannot make sense of this. I cannot make any sense of it at all. None. Zero,” she continued. “My heart has always been with my cousin Caroline ever since we were little kids. My entire being is with her now. What a rock she has been.”

“Those of us left behind will make sure Eddie and Josie know what a beautiful, courageous spirit their mother was and will always be. She takes after her extraordinary mother, Caroline. May we all hold Tatiana’s family in our collective embrace not just today, but in the days ahead, and may each of you who read this know how lucky you are to be alive right now. Please pause and honor your life. It truly is such a gift.”

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One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson is enjoying her strongest resurgence yet with new polling suggesting 2026 might be one of the politician’s biggest years yet. 

The latest Resolve Political Monitor finds both Hanson and her newest recruit, Barnaby Joyce, have staged some of the biggest likeability comebacks among more than 50 federal politicians tracked over the past year.

Hanson’s One Nation party is also recording its best polling results on record. 

The controversial leader finished 2024 with a likeability rating of -13 – still in the negatives, but far above the -25 she recorded in 2023. 

Now she has crossed into positive territory, ending 2025 with a score of 3, marking a dramatic 16-point turnaround.

Joyce’s revival is just as striking. 

After quitting the Nationals earlier this month to join One Nation, Joyce’s popularity has jumped from -22 at the end of 2024 to -4. 

Even with this lift, he remains one of only two MPs still in negative figures.

Barnaby Joyce (left) and Pauline Hanson (right) both saw their likeability ratings improve

The other is Lidia Thorpe, though the controversial senator has seen the biggest improvement of all, moving from a dismal -41 to -12. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also staged one of the biggest comebacks, leaping from -17 last year to 9. 

The analysis was completed before both the Bondi Beach terror attack and Barnaby Joyce’s shock defection to One Nation. 

Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, who topped the 2024 rankings, still holds the title of Australia’s most-liked politician with a score of 15. 

She now shares top spot with ACT independent senator David Pocock, whose score jumped 10 points this year.

Labor’s most popular member is Small Business Minister Anne Aly, who joined cabinet after the election and now sits at 12.  

She narrowly outpaces Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King, who are both on 11.

Leading the Liberals is Tim Wilson with 11, after winning back Goldstein from teal independent Zoe Daniel.

Hanson (pictured) is riding a wave of momentum as her party hits its highest polling in history 

Barnaby Joyce (pictured) had his likeability increase by 18 per cent since the end of 2024 

Independents remain well-liked: Zali Steggall, Helen Haines and Monique Ryan are all on 8; Kate Chaney and Sophie Scamps on 7; and Allegra Spender on 5.  

Liberal leader Sussan Ley has also seen a notable boost, climbing from 0 to 8.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was the only politician to go backwards. 

After quitting the National Party for the Liberals post-election, her rating fell five points, though she remains in positive territory.

While Hanson’s personal fortunes are soaring, the Coalition faces its biggest crisis in 40 years as its core support drops to record lows.

According to Newspoll’s quarterly analysis for The Australian, conducted from 29 September to 20 November, the Coalition’s primary vote slumped to just 24 per cent in October, the lowest figure since Newspoll started in 1985. 

Senior Coalition support is falling fastest among older Australians and people without university qualifications, with many turning away from the two major conservative parties and backing Hanson’s resurgent party. 

Albanese (pictured) had his likeability increase, but the poll was taken before the Bondi attack

Between the last two quarters of 2025, Coalition support among voters without tertiary education dropped six points to 26 per cent, while Labor’s slipped two points to 30 per cent. 

Among Australians aged over 65, both Labor and the Coalition lost ground to One Nation, the data shows. Men and women alike are deserting the Coalition, with Hanson’s party clearly benefiting from the shift. 

Queensland is at the heart of the Coalition’s decline. Formerly a Liberal and Nationals stronghold, the state is now a battleground, with One Nation encroaching further every month.

Joyce’s decision to leave the Nationals after two decades has rattled conservative MPs and is widely expected to fuel One Nation’s growth among rural voters disappointed with the Coalition.

Political analysts warn that the Coalition’s 24 per cent primary vote is not a momentary dip, but a genuine threat to its future. 

The party hasn’t faced numbers this dire since the 1980s, and even then, its support never fell this low.

With Labor steady and independents strongly backed, the Coalition faces being squeezed from both sides of the political spectrum. 

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Experts say a straightforward fingernail test may help identify a potential symptom of lung cancer

One simple test may unveil a little-known cancer symptom(Image: The Good Brigade via Getty Images)

Medical professionals suggest that a simple ‘finger test’ could help identify lung cancer in its early stages, potentially proving life-saving. Whilst well-recognised warning signs such as chest discomfort, shortness of breath, and wheezing are commonly known, indicators can also appear in the hands prior to these red flags.

To perform the test, people should begin by placing their fingernails together. The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation then advises asking one crucial question: Can you see a small diamond-shaped gap?

If the answer is no, this might suggest finger clubbing – a symptom present in approximately 35% of non-small cell lung cancer cases and 4% of those with small cell lung cancer. According to the Express, the UK’s premier lung cancer charity explains: “While not having this diamond-shaped window does not automatically indicate lung cancer, it can be a symptom.

The simple test involves placing your fingernails together (stock image)(Image: Phu Min via Getty Images)

“If you think your nails are clubbed, speak to your doctor.” It’s essential to understand that any associated finger clubbing typically progresses slowly, generally beginning at the nail’s base before extending outwards, causing the nails to bend more dramatically than normal.

Cancer Research highlights that nail bed softening and skin reddening around the area are also frequent warning signals. Sometimes, these changes can develop over several years.

“Finger clubbing means there are certain changes in the shape of your fingers and fingernails,” the charity explains. “It is also called digital clubbing or Hippocratic fingers. People with conditions such as heart or lung problems sometimes have these changes.”

This crucial advice comes as lung cancer continues to be among the most common forms of the disease. NHS statistics reveal that more than 43,000 people across the UK receive a lung cancer diagnosis annually.

Persistent coughing and breathlessness are among various other potential symptoms of lung cancer(Image: Westend61 via Getty Images)

Whilst lung cancer presents itself in different ways, many people will go on to develop several additional worrying symptoms. These typically encompass the following:

• Persistent coughing
• Breathlessness
• Coughing up blood
• Unexplained fatigue and weight loss
• Pain or aches when breathing or coughing

NHS guidance adds: “Lung cancer mainly affects older people. It’s rare in people younger than 40. More than four out of 10 people diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK are aged 75 and older.

“Although people who have never smoked can develop lung cancer, smoking is the most common cause (accounting for more than 70 out of 100 cases). This is because smoking involves regularly inhaling a number of different toxic substances.

“You should see a GP if you have these symptoms.”

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Settlement comes after US Federal Trade Commission accused the entertainment giant of unlawfully collecting children’s data.

Published On 31 Dec 202531 Dec 2025

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Disney has agreed to pay $10m to settle allegations that it breached child privacy laws in the United States, authorities have said.

A federal court approved the settlement to resolve allegations brought by the US Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice said on Tuesday.

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The order also requires Disney to operate its YouTube channel in accordance with data-protection rules and establish a programme to ensure future compliance.

Disney had agreed to settle the claims brought by the US antitrust watchdog in September.

The civil case stems from allegations that Disney collected children’s personal data without parental consent via its videos on YouTube.

Antitrust officials alleged that Disney had wrongly designated more than 300 YouTube videos, including content from The Incredibles, Toy Story, Frozen, and Mickey Mouse, as not being aimed at children.

YouTube requires content creators to designate videos as “Made for Kids” or “Not Made for Kids” to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.

Under the rule, companies in the US are prohibited from collecting data from children below 13 without parental notification.

Other major companies that have paid settlements under the rule, which has been amended several times since its enactment in 2000, include Google and Microsoft.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“The Justice Department is firmly devoted to ensuring parents have a say in how their children’s information is collected and used,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A Shumate said in a statement.

“The Department will take swift action to root out any unlawful infringement on parents’ rights to protect their children’s privacy.”

Disney, which has its headquarters in Burbank, California, is one of the world’s largest entertainment companies, with revenue for the fiscal year 2025 reaching $94.4bn.

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Thousands of people have taken up key vantage points for New Year’s Eve fireworks, with Chris Minns asking Sydneysiders to “square your shoulders, puff out your chest and walk out” to celebrate as a show of defiance after the Bondi attack.

Key viewing sites, including at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, were already at capacity on Wednesday morning.

The New South Wales premier said police were putting “extra measures” in place for the city’s public transport system, which many were expected to use before and after Wednesday’s celebrations. He said this was in addition to the presence of more than 2,500 police officers, including some with long-arm weapons, on Sydney’s streets.

“We need to show strength and resilience during this period,” Minns said on Wednesday. “And if that is that you square your shoulders, puff out your chest and walk out even in the face of genuine community concern, I think that we’ve got an obligation do that.”

The transport minister, John Graham, said Transport for NSW was expecting more than a million people to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the city, including at free viewing sites around the harbour.

“More than a thousand extra [public transport] services are going to be in place, that’s at 40% up on a normal day,” he said.

Public transport services will run continuously for 46 hours, with roads in the CBD closing from noon and train stations close to the harbour closing progressively from 3pm.

Minns said police were on “high alert”, and there were extra measures in place on public transport, but declined to provide detail on tactical operations.

He would not comment on the number of officers carrying long-arms but confirmed they would be embedded in crowds rather than in tactical positions.

“They’ll be operational and highly visible,” he said.

Royal commission calls

Minns refused to weigh in on whether there should be a federal royal commission into the Bondi attack after the Daily Telegraph reported the state opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, had urged the premier to lobby Anthony Albanese to establish one.

“They [the federal government] have made their decision,” Minns said. “We’ve made our decision, we are going ahead with the royal commission in NSW.

“This is not something that’s going to be over and done with 20 days, 30 days. We believe there needs to be fundamental change in NSW to combat antisemitism, to combat extremism in our community.”

Minns, who visited Ahmed al-Ahmed on Tuesday after he was readmitted to hospital, said he would respect the Bondi hero’s privacy but added that the 43-year-old was “recovering”.

“His injuries are very serious … he was in serious danger of not making it, and his recovery has been phenomenal.”

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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has sharply criticized the Trump administration Tuesday over its decision to pause federal child care funds to the state after an influencer’s video went viral alleging widespread fraud there in government programs.

“This is Trump’s long game,” Walz, who was on the Democratic ticket against Trump in 2024, wrote on X. “We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue – but this has been his plan all along. He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.”

The comments came as the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it was freezing child care payments to the state.

In a post on X, HHS credited the stop to allegations from a video by right-wing content creator Nick Shirley, which claimed daycare centers run by people of Somali descent in Minnesota are responsible for “potentially the largest fraud scandal in U.S. history.”

In the video, which state Republican leadership said they assisted in creating, Shirley travels to what he says are empty centers where he claims fraud is taking place, though it’s unclear when in the week Shirley was visiting the facilities, and some observers in the state say the video is not well-evidenced enough to be considered accurate factual reporting.

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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz claimed a federal decision to freeze child care funds for the state in the wake of fraud allegations was really part of the Trump administration’s ‘long game’ to punish voters in the Democratically led state (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

State officials say all the centers in the video have been visited in the past six months and fraud was not discovered.

The manager of one of the centers in the video told the Minnesota StarTribune that while children are not visible from the outside, they were in fact present when Shirley visited, but that doors to the center are locked for safety.

Despite these caveats, Republicans have quickly latched onto the claims in the video, folding them into the president and the MAGA movement’s regular demonization of Somali people and immigrant communities at large.

Vice President JD Vance claimed in an X post last week that immigrants were “stealing both money and political power from Minnesotans,” while GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer has called for the denaturalization of Somalis engaged in fraud.

Federal agencies including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have also begun investigating allegations tied to the video.

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Federal agencies including Homeland Security have launched investigations after a right-wing content creator’s allegations of fraud at Minnesota child care centers went viral (Department of Homeland Security)

State officials have been cracking down on government program fraud in Minnesota for years, and 57 people have been convicted as part of the $300 million Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, which came to prominence in 2022.

In an op-ed earlier this month, Walz said the state had implemented “systematic changes” in recent years, including replacing state leaders, sending individuals to jail, hiring a former state police chief and FBI agent to oversee program integrity, and bringing in an outside firm to audit payments.

“What is not helpful is the president of the United States demonizing an entire community or pardoning someone single-handedly responsible for $1.6 billion in fraud,” Walz wrote in the StarTribune, a reference to Trump’s recent commutation of private equity executive David Gentile’s prison sentence.

“If there were a silver bullet to solve this issue, we wouldn’t be seeing similar issues in these federal Medicaid programs in red and blue states across the country — including multi-million-dollar fraud schemes in Ohio, Arizona, Nebraska, Texas and Pennsylvania,” he added.

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The president regularly disparages Somali-American people, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, whom he recently called ‘garbage’ (The Independent)

In response to Walz’s comments, a White House social media account called Walz a slur for developmentally disabled people.

Federal officials have said there’s even more wide-ranging fraud afoot in Minnesota.

This month, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who is leading an ongoing series of fraud cases, suggested that social services fraud across 14 federally supported programs in Minnesota could top $9 billion. The governor’s office has called this “speculating” and “sensationalism,” given that the cases in question include about $11.6 million in alleged fraud.

Prior to the Minnesota video going viral, the Trump administration has cracked down on Minnesota’s Somali population, the largest in the country.

The Treasury Department is investigating business people use to wire money to family members in the country, after a report from a conservative news outlet alleged such funds support militant groups.

Trump has called for immigrants from Somalia — including his longtime critic Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar — to “be thrown the hell out” of the U.S., alleging they have “destroyed our country.”

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NEED TO KNOW

• Macyi Neeley shared a TikTok video on Tuesday, Dec. 30, detailing a past allegedly abusive relationship
• “I became someone that I don’t even recognize,” Mayci said
• The reality star tells more of the story in her upcoming memoir, Told You So

Macyi Neeley is opening up about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

On Tuesday, Dec. 30, Mayci posted a TikTok video discussing her personal experience in an allegedly abusive relationship. “First and foremost, trigger warning,” she began.

She shared that for the past few weeks, she’s been tagged in several videos about domestic violence and sexual assault, “because obviously, I have experienced that, and I’m definitely an advocate for it,” before she continued with a message for other survivors.

“When you are a victim, even I know to never compare my situation to another victim, because they’re not the same,” she said. “I think one of the things I want to speak on, too, is about how women go back to their abusers. I can give my experience.”

Addressing questions about why she stayed in the relationship after her “abuser” “shoved her, choked her, and [sexually assaulted] her,” Mayci said, “Because I was being blackmailed.”

“My abuser would threaten to get me kicked out of my university because they had a strict honor codes,” she explained, adding that her former partner threatened to send photos of her drinking alcohol to the university in an attempt to have her expelled.

She also pointed to “Stockholm Syndrome” as another reason she stayed in the relationship.

“The abuser can maybe be holding financials over their head,” said Mayci. “Could be isolating them, periods of good behavior and bad behavior. It’s like this toxic cycle where these small things that happen at the beginning of the relationship, they’re like, maybe a small red flag. Those become your everyday life when you’re in these relationships, and you don’t even notice them after a while.”

“Lack of self-esteem” was another reason Mayci said she felt drawn back to her alleged abuser, adding that often victims “stay because they don’t feel like they have any other option.”

Mayci shared how being in an abusive relationship changed her perspective.

“There’s so much more psychological abuse and so many mental aspects of this that I can’t even put into words that make you feel so crazy when you’re going through it. My entire personality changed. I became an angry person. I became someone that I don’t even recognize. Before I was ever in an abusive relationship, I would look at it and be like, ‘Yeah, get out,’ ” Mayci continued.

“Filming through it while pregnant, and then going through it, doing a reunion postpartum, it hasn’t been super fun, especially because I actually haven’t been able to share my story of DV or SA on the show,” said Mayci, who announced her pregnancy with husband Jacob, in February.

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Mayci, who details her experience in her memoir Told You So, ended by telling other survivors, “If you are a victim, this triggering for you, I see you, I hear you, I’m with you, and I love you guys, and thanks for listening.”

The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star’s book, Told You So, will be published on Oct. 7 and is now available for preorder.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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A body has been found in the frantic search for a Texas teen who mysteriously vanished from her home on Christmas Eve.

Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, was last seen on a neighbor’s surveillance camera leaving her San Antonio neighborhood just before 7am Wednesday, prompting a week-long search as authorities warned she could be in ‘imminent danger.’ 

On Tuesday, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said that a body, along with a firearm, had been found in a field ‘very close to Camila’s home,’ according to My San Antonio News. 

The body was discovered around 4:45pm near the Burning Bush Landscaping Company at Bent Cyn and FM 1560, just a few hundred yards from her home in an area of tall grass, according to My San Antonio News.

Sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents found the body during a renewed search of the field, which they had decided to re-comb due to the dense brush. 

However, Sheriff Javier Salazar said the medical examiner has yet to confirm the identity of the remains, as well as the cause and manner of death.

‘But we hope to expedite that process to get the community answers,’ Salazar said.

He added that he hopes the medical examiner will release answers regarding the identity within the next day or two. 

A body has been found in the frantic search for Texas teen, Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, who mysteriously vanished from her home on Christmas Eve

Olmos was last seen on a neighbor’s surveillance camera leaving her San Antonio neighborhood just before 7am Wednesday, where footage captured her rummaging through her car

On Tuesday, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said that a body, along with a firearm, had been found in a field ‘very close to Camila’s home’ 

As for the firearm, Salazar confirmed that authorities are not suspecting foul play at this time and are considering self-harm as a possibility, according to the outlet. 

‘We developed some information that there may have been some suicidal ideations on Camila’s part,’ the sheriff said.

‘Undiagnosed, as far as we can tell,’ he added. ‘It sounds like this was a young person going through a very tough time in her life, going through some emotional issues.’

The discovery comes one week after the college student vanished from her mother’s driveway on Christmas Eve morning, where she had been living while attending nearby Northwest Vista College with hopes of becoming an orthodontist.

Olmos’ childhood friend Camila Estrella said their last conversation was a day before her disappearance, when they planned to go dress shopping for her boyfriend’s family event. 

Estrella told the New York Post that Olmos’ parting words were, ‘Bye Cami, I love you.’ 

Her sudden disappearance immediately prompted urgent pleas from her family, with authorities recognizing the area she vanished from as a human-trafficking corridor. 

On the morning of her disappearance, KENS obtained surveillance footage showing Olmos near her car with the lights on, wearing only a hoodie and pajama shorts. 

 As for the firearm, Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed that authorities are not suspecting foul play at this time and are considering self-harm as a possibility 

Salazar said the medical examiner has yet to confirm the identity of the remains – as well as the cause and manner of death – but hopes there will be answers in the next day or two

Her disappearance  prompted urgent pleas from her family, with authorities recognizing the area she vanished from as a human-trafficking corridor (pictured: a map inside the Olmos home unfurled to show the surrounding area of the San Antonio family home)

Investigators said the footage shows Olmos searching inside the car for an unidentified item before the video abruptly ends. 

They said it is unclear what she was searching for. Police believe she took only her car keys and possibly her driver’s license when she left home. 

Authorities noted that her car was still parked at the residence, suggesting she left on foot. From that point, she was never seen again.   

Olmos’s family said she normally goes for morning walks but always takes her phone, insisting it was out of character for her to leave without telling them where she was going. 

Her mother, Rosario Olmos, told KENS 5 that they had been sleeping together that morning. She said Camila got up, and about an hour and a half later, she did too – but there were no signs of her daughter, except for her car. 

‘I called her cell phone, but the cell phone was there on the bed and it was turned off,’ her mother told the outlet.

‘I put it to charge and went out to look for her,’ she added. ‘I thought I would find her like other times – walking – and we would come home together.’ 

On Sunday, Sheriff Salazar told ABC News that authorities were ‘not ruling out that this case may take us outside the borders of the continental United States.’

While withholding some specifics of the case, Salazar said the evidence collected so far suggested the teenage girl was in ‘imminent danger.’ 

He also revealed that Olmos had recently experienced a romantic breakup, but said it was amicable and that everyone close to her was cooperating with the investigation. 

Salazar made it a personal mission to ensure she had not been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, noting it was a ‘concern’ that had crossed his mind, despite Olmos being a US citizen.   

Beyond that, investigators said all possibilities remained on the table, including the chance she was kidnapped or fell victim to human trafficking. 

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security immediately assisted with the desperate search, including monitoring border crossings and international travel. 

Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office deployed drone teams, search dogs and cadets to continue scouring the area around Olmos’s suburb. 

On Tuesday morning, searchers continued scouring local fields and ditches for the teen while her family clung to hope, even while acknowledging that the chances of finding her alive was growing slimmer each day. 

‘I’m going to tell you something,’ her mother, Rosario told the Daily Mail Monday morning. ‘Giving up is not an option.’ 

The night before she went missing, Olmos, who had completed her fall semester in mid-December, was at home cooking and unwinding with her mother.

The two were close, often sharing a bed despite each having their own room in their spacious two-story brick home. 

Olmos’s mother said she awoke early on Christmas Eve wearing baby blue pajama shorts, a black North Face hoodie, and white sneakers. The neighbor’s camera later captured her rummaging through her car in that same outfit. 

Then, as if in a flash, her image disappeared from the video footage, leaving no clue where she went. 

That changed on Monday, when Salazar released new evidence: dashboard camera footage that, while blurry, appeared to show someone matching her description walking alone northbound on Wildhorse Parkway, just a few blocks from her home.

Salazar stated that authorities were considering all possibilities, including suicide, and that she had been dealing with depression, ‘undercurrents of suicidal ideation,’ and self-harm in the months prior to her disappearance. 

Olmos and her boyfriend, Nathan Gonzales, broke up in the fall when he moved out of town for college. 

‘She had lost weight, her grades were down and she was feeling low from the break-up with the boyfriend,’ her father, Alfonso Mendoza, a trucker who lives a block from his ex-wife, told the Daily Mail.

Although Rosario acknowledged that school and grades had been stressing her daughter out, she disputed that she was facing serious mental health challenges. 

‘People talk. But they don’t know my daughter like I do,’ she said, noting that Cami’s recent breakup was mutual and respectful.

‘It ended on good terms, in a lovely way,’ she said, and ‘wasn’t something she was depressed about.’ Nathan had been actively helping in the search for his ex.

Additional extended family members from California and Mexico rushed to Rosario’s side after learning of their loved ones disappearance. 

Both friends and volunteers spent Wednesday through Sunday scouring nearby neighborhoods, vacant lots and creeks for the daughter Rosario calls her ‘princess,’ her ‘dream.’

Rosario revealed that she was unable to sleep each night, wondering if her daughter was ‘out there somewhere hungry and cold in the late December wind and rain.’  

A flood of tips has come in since Wednesday, including one on Sunday from a psychic who told Rosario that Cami is alive and in a one-story home on a gravel road.

‘I don’t know what to believe,’ the mother told the Daily Mail.

Frank Trevino, 69, a retired insurance salesman, has organized search parties helping families find missing loved ones in the San Antonio area for 25 years and was especially drawn to Olmos’s case.

As he told it, the teen’s death stands out from other disappearances because ‘we have so many questions and so little to go on.’ 

His hunch was that her beauty and small stature of 5ft 4in and 110lbs may have made her a target. 

‘If they see a young woman who is alone and would not be a problem if she fought back, that makes her vulnerable to human trafficking,’ he said. 

While human trafficking was among investigators’ theories, a person close to the search told the Daily Mail that Olmos did not seem to have the kind of social media presence that usually lures in traffickers.

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