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One Tech Tip: Spend quality time with loved ones, not a screen, over the holidays 12/18/2025 07:20am • The Christmas holiday season is a time to step back from the busy pace of modern life and connect with our nearest and dearest instead of screens, apps and chatbots. Here are some suggestions on how to unplug from the online world for the next few weeks as you sit down for a festive meal, exchange An uninhabited Scottish isle is home to the golden granite used in Olympic curling stones 12/18/2025 07:18am • AILSA CRAIG, Scotland (AP) ��� If you���re looking to strike gold ��� silver or bronze, too ��� look to Ailsa Craig. This uninhabited isle 10 miles (16 kilometers) off the coast of southwest Scotland is the source of the super-dense granite used to make curling stones for the Winter Olympics. Jim En Top EU court rules Polish Constitutional Tribunal is not independent 12/18/2025 07:16am • WARSAW, Poland (AP) ��� The European Union's top court ruled on Thursday that Poland's Constitutional Tribunal was not "independent and impartial" because of politicized appointments made under the previous conservative Polish government. In its ruling, the EU's Court of Justice said the Polish Con PHOTO ESSAY: Grassroots groups tackle social isolation 12/18/2025 07:11am • Josh Pyles grew up on the farm where he now lives in Port Royal, Kentucky. His wife, Ashley Pyles, had never farmed before. But both are fully committed at their Blue Meadow Beef farm, where they and their three children raise beef cattle for local consumers. ���At the end of the day, we want it to FactSet: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot 12/18/2025 07:09am • NORWALK, Conn. (AP) ��� NORWALK, Conn. (AP) ��� FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS) on Thursday reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $152.6 million. On a per-share basis, the Norwalk, Connecticut-based company said it had net income of $4.06. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, c Darden Restaurants: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot 12/18/2025 07:08am • ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) ��� ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) ��� Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) on Thursday reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $237.2 million. The Orlando, Florida-based company said it had profit of $2.03 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and to account for discontinued op Efforts to reconnect Americans face challenges in a lonely time 12/18/2025 07:06am • It's been called an ���epidemic��� of loneliness and isolation. The ���bowling alone��� phenomenon. By any name, it refers to Americans' growing social disconnection by many measures. Americans are less likely to join civic groups, unions and churches than in recent generations. They have fewer frie Bit by bit, small US groups chip away at historic levels of social isolation 12/18/2025 07:02am • Across the country, small groups are working to rebuild social connection amid rising loneliness in their own modest ways. It sounds simple ��� building relationships. But they���re up against powerful cultural forces. By many measures, Americans are socially disconnected at historic levels. They're Bank of England cuts key interest rate to 3.75%, the first reduction in 4 months 12/18/2025 07:01am • LONDON (AP) ��� Bank of England cuts key interest rate to 3.75%, the first reduction in 4 months. CarMax: Fiscal Q3 Earnings Snapshot 12/18/2025 07:00am • RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ��� RICHMOND, Va. (AP) ��� CarMax Inc. (KMX) on Thursday reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $62.2 million. The Richmond, Virginia-based company said it had net income of 43 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for restructuring costs, came to 51 cents per share. The results Russia is trying to overwhelm Europe with its sabotage campaign, Western officials say 12/18/2025 06:52am • In November, a train carrying almost 500 people came to a sudden halt in eastern Poland. A broken overhead line had smashed several windows, and the track ahead was damaged. Elsewhere on the line, explosives detonated under a passing freight train. No one was hurt in either case and the damage was l Accenture: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot 12/18/2025 06:47am • DUBLIN (AP) ��� DUBLIN (AP) ��� Accenture PLC (ACN) on Thursday reported fiscal first-quarter profit of $2.21 billion. On a per-share basis, the Dublin-based company said it had net income of $3.54. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $3.94 per share. The results exceeded Wall Street Villarreal can launch an outsider La Liga title bid if it beats Barcelona 12/18/2025 06:43am • BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ��� Villarreal has quietly mounted a potential dark horse title campaign through most of the first half of La Liga. Now it has a chance to make it official when the ���Yellow Submarine��� hosts Barcelona on Sunday. The team coached by Marcelino Garc��a Toral is in third place a Staging the Africa Cup of Nations part of Morocco's bid to become a soccer superpower 12/18/2025 06:23am • RABAT, Morocco (AP) ��� Staging the Africa Cup of Nations from Sunday is another major step in Morocco���s road to becoming a global soccer power and a dry run as a co-host for the 2030 World Cup. Three years after reaching the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup, the North African kingdom will host 24 Indonesian court sentences an Australian to 12 years in prison for smuggling cocaine to Bali 12/18/2025 06:22am • DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) ��� An Indonesian court on Thursday sentenced an Australian citizen to 12 years in prison after finding him guilty of smuggling cocaine to the tourist island of Bali. Lamar Aaron Ahchee, 43, from Cairns in north Queensland, was arrested in May when police raided his rented h