Russia and Ukraine accused each other of targeting civilians over the New Year, with Moscow reporting a deadly strike on a hotel in territory it occupies in southern Ukraine while Kyiv said there had been another broad attack on its power supplies. The reports coincide with intensive talks overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump and aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year-old war. Each country has said the other is doing all it can to influence his views and shape the outcome. “On New Year, Russia deliberately brings war. Over 200 attack drones were launched onto Ukraine in the night,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram, saying energy infrastructure in seven regions across Ukraine had been targeted. Russia accused Ukraine of killing at least 24 people, including a child, in a drone strike on a hotel and cafe where civilians were seeing in the New Year in a Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. Ukraine’s military, which has accused Russia of killing many civilians in its own attacks on Ukrainian cities, said it targeted strictly military and energy targets, but made no specific reference to accounts of the strike on the hotel. Zelensky said that Russia’s holiday season attacks showed Ukraine could not afford delays in air defense supplies. “(Our) allies have the names of equipment which we are lacking. We expect that everything agreed with the United States at the end of December for our defense will arrive on time,” he said, without clarifying further. Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of the region, said three Ukrainian drones had hit the celebrations in Khorly, a coastal village, in what he said was a “deliberate strike” against civilians. He said that many people had been burnt alive. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that as well as the 24 dead, 50 people had been injured. It said the strike, as well as other drone attacks blamed on Ukraine, sought to “divert attention from the failures of the Ukrainian military at the front. The Kyiv regime is trying to prove its viability through terrorist acts.” On Monday, Moscow accused Kyiv of trying to strike a residence of President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian and European officials have said the incident did not happen and U.S. security officials were also reported to have found that Ukraine did not target the residence. A senior Russian military chief handed to a U.S. military attache what he said was part of a Ukrainian drone containing data he said proved that the Ukrainian military had targeted the residence. Reuters was not able to immediately verify the reported Kherson region attack or photographs of what Saldo’s press service said was the aftermath on Thursday. Saldo said he had briefed Putin on the details of the attack. The images showed at least one dead body was visible beneath a white sheet. The building showed signs that a fire had raged and there were what looked like blood stains on the ground. Russia’s TASS news agency published video showing drone fragments, some with Ukrainian writing on them. Ukrainian officials regularly report civilian deaths from Russian air attacks, including in the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson, which lies near the front line. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships The Ukrainian governor of Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said that one man had been killed and an 87-year-old woman injured in attacks on the city on Thursday. Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said rail facilities had been attacked in three regions. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Thursday its strikes had hit military targets, as well as energy infrastructure which it claimed was being used to support Ukraine’s military. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, told TASS that those who carried out the hotel attack and their commanders should be targeted. Kherson is one of four regions in Ukraine which Russia claimed as its own in 2022, a move Kyiv and most Western countries denounced as an illegal land grab. Moscow’s Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said Russian air defence units had downed 35 Ukrainian drones over the past 24 hours. He reported no casualties or damage. (Reporting by Max Hunder and Reuters bureaux; writing by Philippa Fletcher; editing by Ros Russell and Ron Popeski)

Investigators on Friday set about the painful task of identifying the burned bodies of a blaze that engulfed a crowded bar and killed around 40 people at a New Year’s Eve party in the upscale Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana. So severe were the burns suffered by the mostly young crowd of revellers in the Le Constellation bar that Swiss officials said it could take days before they name all the victims of the fire that also injured 115, many of them seriously. Parents of missing youths anxiously issued pleas for news of their loved ones as foreign embassies scrambled to work out if their nationals were among those caught up in one of the worst tragedies to befall modern Switzerland. “The first objective is to assign names to all the bodies,” Crans-Montana’s mayor Nicolas Feraud told a press conference on Thursday evening. This, he said, could take days. Mathias Reynard, head of government of the canton of Valais, said experts were using dental and DNA samples for the task. “All this work needs to be done because the information is so terrible and sensitive that nothing can be told to the families unless we are 100 percent sure,” he said. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships What caused the blaze was unclear. Swiss authorities said it appeared to be an accident rather than an attack. Some accounts from survivors and footage broadcast on social media suggested that the ceiling of the bar’s basement may have caught fire when sparkling candles got too close. Residents of Crans-Montana, which has the distinction of being not only a popular draw for skiers, but also golfers, were stunned by the inferno. Many knew victims and some said they were lucky not to have been there themselves. Hundreds of people stood in silence near the scene as they came to pay their respects to the victims on Thursday night. “You think you’re safe here but this can happen anywhere. They were people like us,” said Piermarco Pani, an 18-year-old who, like many others in the town, knew the bar well. Dozens of people left flowers or lit candles on a makeshift altar at the top of the road leading to the bar which police had cordoned off. Some cried, others quietly hugged one another. Behind the cordon, the bodies of some victims still lay in the bar, police said, as they pledged to work around the clock to identify everyone who succumbed to the blaze. Kean Sarbach, 17, said he had spoken to four people who escaped from the bar, some with burns, and that they had told him the flames had spread very quickly. Elisa Sousa, 17, said she was meant to be there but ended up spending the evening at a family gathering instead. “And honestly, I’ll need thank my mother a hundred times for not letting me go,” she said at the vigil for the victims. “Because God knows where I’d be now.” (Reporting by Dave Graham and Emma Farge; Editing by Alistair Bell)

Everyone’s favorite college sports fans have an exciting new home. Crain & Co., The Daily Wire’s flagship sports show hosted by Jake and Blain Crane and David Cone, is now part of On3, one of the biggest college sports sites in the world. Their show, now called Crain and Cone, launched today and will continue to bring audiences the same incisive analysis and color commentary that have made the boys fan favorites. Some of our favorite moments from @CrainCompany over the years! Wishing the guys the best of luck in the next step of their journey at @On3sports! Thank you for everything, @JakeCrain_ @Blain_Crain @davidadamcone. pic.twitter.com/1Nym7FJPsj — Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 1, 2026 “I’ve been a huge fan of Crain & Cone for years,” On3 founder and CEO Shannon Terry said. “They’re true ‘ball knowers,’ incredibly entertaining, with a chemistry that takes years to build.” “With the rise of On3 and our brand, it’s the perfect fit and the proper time to come together to achieve something great,” Jake Crain said. The Crain & Co. hosts will remain members of The Daily Wire family as they embark on this new adventure, something they each mentioned in their touching sendoffs to viewers. I can’t say enough about this company. Class all the way. Always have our backs. I hope to forever remain a part of the DW family. https://t.co/ZuECaVm7jm — David Cone (@davidadamcone) January 1, 2026 “I wanted to record one final video here in our studio at The Daily Wire, mostly to say thank you and to express how grateful I am,” David Cone shared on X. “The company is headed in a great direction.” Thank you for 4 amazing years @realDailyWire – and thank you to everyone has who supported us. What an honor. I hope to always be a part of the DW family. pic.twitter.com/DKuLUYusLG — David Cone (@davidadamcone) January 1, 2026 “I hope that my professional and certainly my personal relationship will continue with The Daily Wire, because I was a Daily Wire member long before I was given the opportunity to speak from these airwaves,” he added. “I just wanted to take a second to let everybody know how appreciative we are of The Daily Wire, what The Daily Wire means for us, what they did for us and our families,” Jake Crain said. “There is not an ounce of anger or bitterness between either party.” A special thank you to the @realDailyWire ??? pic.twitter.com/jNWBeH6WBw — Jake “JBOY” Crain (@JakeCrain_) January 1, 2026 “It’s really not goodbye for us,” Crain added. “It’s really just a see you later.” So congrats, fellas, and best of luck on your new adventure!

Independent journalist Nick Shirley says he’s not worried about critics slinging nasty allegations his way. “I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t do drugs, I’m a virgin,” he declared, adding, “I don’t have sex with random girls.” Shirley made the comments during a recent appearance on the “PBD Podcast” with host Patrick Bet David, where the two discussed the fallout from Shirley’s now-viral video exposing rampant fraud in the Minnesota daycare system. WATCH: ?NEW: @nickshirleyy warns his enemies he’s *INVINCIBLE* against slander? “What sucks for them is they’re never going to be able to get me. I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t do drugs, I’m a virgin … I’m religious. I believe in God … I have nothing to hide.”@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/3x259r6Em7 — Jason Cohen ?? (@JasonJournoDC) December 31, 2025 “These people are like — I saw something — someone’s calling me, like, a PDF, they’re saying all these crazy allegations, I’m like wait,” Shirley began. “What sucks for them is they’re never gonna be able to get me. I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t do drugs, I’m a virgin. I don’t have sex with random girls. You’re not gonna catch me on those sexual allegation charges.” “I don’t have any addictions, I don’t have any vices. So what are these people gonna get me for?” he asked. “They’re done. I’m religious, I believe in God. I’m everything they hate, so what are they going to get me for? They can’t get me for anything. Like, they’re gonna come after me for my personality or for a stunt I did in high school maybe? That’s maybe the best thing they could get me for, is for Nick Shirley being a young, reckless teenager, just like any other YouTube prankster. Go ahead, I don’t care. Like, I have nothing to hide.” Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships “I literally have nothing to hide, so like, I am going to become their worst enemy, and you’re going to start seeing them using the slandering tactics and it’s just going to be comical because they can’t get anything on me,” he predicted. Shirley also commented during the same podcast appearance about the threats he’s received since his video went viral, saying that he’d been told he was going to be “Kirked” — in reference to the assassinated Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk — and that members of his family had been doxxed and flooded with calls from media outlets.

The situation surrounding Zohran Mamdani’s swearing-in as New York City mayor has produced an unusual quirk on social media: he has inherited the official @NYCMayor account along with all of the tweets posted under former Mayor Eric Adams — including Adams’s pro-Israel messaging. Because the account name and profile have now been updated to reflect Mayor Mamdani, those older tweets remain publicly visible under his name, even though they were written before he took office, creating a jarring and sometimes humorous mismatch between past content and the new mayor’s positions. The NYC Mayor’s Twitter account is now under Mayor Mamdani’s name, but unlike the White House accounts, prior tweets are not archived or clearly attributed to past administrations. As a result, there are tweets still visible that are jarring when they appear under Mayor… pic.twitter.com/lxgbmrEmY1 — Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) January 1, 2026   For the record, Mamdani condemned Netanyahu when he appeared at UN and accused him of genocide. NYC needs to update its social media management. — Rowan Scarborough (@RoScarborough) January 1, 2026 This contrasts sharply with how official White House social-media accounts are handled during a presidential transition. As The Washington Post explained in 2017 when Donald Trump assumed office, institutional federal accounts such as @POTUS, @WhiteHouse, @FLOTUS, @VP, and @PressSec transfer to the incoming administration with their followers but not their content. The outgoing administration’s tweets are archived under separate, clearly labeled accounts (such as @POTUS44 for Barack Obama), while the new administration begins with a clean slate. This system prevents confusion about who authored past posts and preserves a clear public record. New York City, however, treats @NYCMayor as a continuous government communications tool rather than a time-limited account tied to a specific mayor. The account is owned and managed by the City of New York through the Mayor’s Office of Digital Strategy under city social media policy. That means the account is not reset or archived when a new mayor takes office. Instead, it functions as a running institutional record spanning multiple administrations. Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships As Newsweek has noted, the account has existed since January 2009 and now contains an extensive archive of posts from successive mayors. The result is that tweets written by Eric Adams remain fully visible even though the account now bears Mamdani’s name — a structural difference from federal account-transition practices that highlights how state and local governments often follow their own conventions when managing digital public records.