CELEBRITY

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In a significant legal triumph just days before the 2025 holiday season, Mariah Carey has effectively ended a years-long copyright dispute over her perennial hit “All I Want for Christmas

Is You.” A federal judge issued a final order for sanctions against the plaintiffs who had accused Carey of plagiarism, bringing a definitive close to a case that has loomed over the holiday anthem since its refiling in 2023.

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The Song Sung Blue actress confirmed she passed on the opportunity to play Mary Jane Watson in the 2002 blockbuster Spider-Man. Speaking on the Monday, Dec. 22 episode of Watch What Happens Live, Hudson gave a direct answer to a fan question about the casting speculation.

"Yes, I did," Hudson told host Andy Cohen. Reflecting on the decision to skip the Sam Raimi-directed hit, which eventually starred Kirsten Dunst opposite Tobey Maguire, Hudson admitted a hint of nostalgia. "Now that I look back, it's one of those things where I look back like, 'That would have been nice to be in a Spider-Man movie.'"

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In a personal act of philanthropy, global superstar Taylor Swift has donated $1 million to the American Heart Association (AHA). The gift, confirmed on December 23, 2025, was made in honor of her father, Scott Swift, following his recent recovery from a significant cardiac procedure. The 73-year-old reportedly underwent quintuple bypass surgery earlier this summer after a stress test revealed multiple blockages in his heart, an experience Taylor later described as “intense” and “really quick” during a candid conversation on Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast.

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Australian sports journalist Duncan McKenzie-McHarg has died at the age of 41, authorities in Los Angeles confirmed.

According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, McKenzie-McHarg died on Wednesday, December 17, after falling from the top of a building onto the roof of another. His death was ruled a suicide caused by blunt traumatic injuries.

McKenzie-McHarg, who had been working as a U.S.-based freelancer, most recently covered professional tennis for Australian streaming service Stan. A spokesperson for Stan expressed condolences, saying, "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Duncan McKenzie-McHarg. Duncan was a valued contributor to Stan Sport, and our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this very difficult time."

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Lawyers for hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs urged a federal appeals court in New York late Tuesday to order his immediate release from prison and reverse his conviction on prostitution-related charges or direct his trial judge to lighten his four-year sentence.

The lawyers said in a filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that Combs was treated harshly at sentencing by a federal judge who let evidence surrounding charges he was acquitted of unjustly influence the punishment.

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On December 23, Professor Noel Fitzpatrick shared details of treating one of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's pets in an interview with The Times. Fitzpatrick, a leading orthopedic-neuro veterinary surgeon and star of The Supervet on Channel 4, operated on Meghan's beagle Guy in 2017 after the dog suffered serious injuries.

"Meghan rang me from Canada, where she was living at the time, to say Guy had escaped and was found with two broken wrists," Fitzpatrick recalled. "Would I operate? I agreed, and she brought him over."

The surgery was successful, and Fitzpatrick described a touching moment with the royal couple. "The duke and duchess sat on the floor. We had cake. Guy was fixed," he said. Guy lived until January this year, and Fitzpatrick received a heartfelt note of gratitude from Meghan, which he called "sweet."

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British authorities on Tuesday brought new counts of rape and sexual assault against comedian Russell Brand, who is already facing similar charges involving four women.

The U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service said the new charges — one count of rape and one of sexual assault — against Brand were in relation to two further women. The alleged offenses took place in 2009, the CPS said.