Hosted by Jane Pauley. Featured: "Hail and Farewell," our annual tribute to those we lost in 2025; the best underreported good news stories of the year; artist Thomas McKean, whose medium is New York City Transit MetroCards; a Gingerbread City exhibit in London; and a brand-new centerpiece for the Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop.
China launched live-fire drills around Taiwan that it said would simulate a blockade of the self-ruled island's key ports, prompting Taipei to condemn Beijing's "military intimidation."
The U.S. announced a $2 billion pledge for U.N. humanitarian aid as the Trump administration continues to slash U.S. foreign assistance and warns United Nations agencies to "adapt, shrink or die" in a time of new financial realities.
China dominates the supply of critical minerals such as tungsten, but a U.S. push for alternative sources has found one, deep inside a South Korean mountain.
Officials said a train accident in southern Mexico killed at least 13 people and injured dozens, halting traffic along a rail line connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico.
