Trump, in interview, defends his energy and health, offers new details on screening he underwent

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump defended his energy and health in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and disclosed that he had a CT scan, not an MRI scan, during an October examination about which he and the White House delayed offering details.

Trump, in the interview, said he regretted undergoing the advanced imaging on his heart and abdomen during an October visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center because it raised public questions about his health. His physician said in a memo the White House released in December that he had "advanced imaging" as a preventative screening for men his age.

Trumphad initially described it as an MRIbut said he didn't know what part of his body he had scanned. A CT scan is a quicker form of diagnostic imaging than an MRI but offers less detail about differences in tissue.

The president's doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, said in a statement released Thursday by the White House that Trump underwent the exam in October because he planned to be at Walter Reed to meet people working there. Trump hadalready undergone an annual physical in April.

"President Trump agreed to meet with the staff and soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Hospital in October. In order to make the most of the President's time at the hospital, we recommended he undergo another routine physical evaluation to ensure continued optimal health," Barbabella said.

Barbabella said that he asked the president to undergo either a CT scan or MRI "to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues" and the results were "perfectly normal and revealed absolutely no abnormalities."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Thursday that the president's doctors and the White House have "always maintained the President received advanced imaging" but said that "additional details on the imaging have been disclosed by the President himself" because he "has nothing to hide."

"In retrospect, it's too bad I took it because it gave them a little ammunition," Trump said in theinterview with The Wall Street Journalpublished Thursday. "I would have been a lot better off if they didn't, because the fact that I took it said, 'Oh gee, is something wrong?' Well, nothing's wrong."

The 79-year-old became the oldest person to take the oath of office when he was sworn in as president last year and has been sensitive to questions about his health, particularly as he has repeatedly questioned his predecessor Joe Biden's fitness for office.

Biden, who turned 82 in the last year of his presidency, was dogged the end of the his tenure and during his abandoned attempt to seek reelection over scrutiny of his age and mental acuity.

But questions have also swirled around Trump's health this year as he's been seen with bruising on the back of his right hand that has been conspicuous despite a slathering of makeup on top, along with noticeable swelling at his ankles.

The White House this summer said the president had been diagnosed withchronic venous insufficiency, a common condition among older adults. The condition happens when veins in the legs can't properly carry blood back to the heart and it pools in the lower legs.

In the interview, Trump said he briefly tried wearing compression socks to address the swelling but stopped because he didn't like them.

The bruising on Trump's hand, according to Leavitt, is from "frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin," which Trump takes regularly to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

He said he takes more aspirin than his doctors recommend but said he has resisted taking less because he's been taking it for 25 years and said he is "a little superstitious." Trump takes 325 milligrams of aspirin daily, according to Barbabella.

"They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don't want thick blood pouring through my heart," Trump said. "I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?"

Trump, in the interview, denied he has fallen asleep during White House meetingswhen cameras have caught him with his eyes closed, instead insisting he was resting his eyes or blinking.

"I'll just close. It's very relaxing to me," he said. "Sometimes they'll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they'll catch me with the blink."

He said that he's never slept much at night,a habit he also described during his first term, and said he starts his day early in the White House residence before moving to the Oval Office around 10 a.m. and working until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m.

The president dismissed questions about his hearing, saying he only struggled to hear "when there's a lot of people talking," and said he has plenty of energy, which he credited to his genes.

"Genetics are very important," he said. "And I have very good genetics."

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January 01, 2026

Trump, in interview, defends his energy and health, offers new details on screening he underwent

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump defended his energy and health in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and...

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Federal employees file complaint against Trump administration's ban on gender-affirming care

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is facing a new legal complaint from a group of government employees who are affected by a new policy going into effect Thursday that eliminates coverage for gender-affirming care in federal health insurance programs.

The complaint, filed Thursday on the employees' behalf by the Human Rights Campaign, is in response to an August announcement from the Office of Personnel Management that it would no longer cover "chemical and surgical modification of an individual's sex traits through medical interventions" in health insurance programs for federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers.

The complaint argues that denying coverage of gender-affirming care is sex-based discrimination and asks the personnel office to rescind the policy.

"This policy is not about cost or care — it is about driving transgender people and people with transgender spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce," Human Rights Campaign Foundation President Kelley Robinson said in a statement announcing the move.

The complaint, filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, includes testimonies from four current federal workers at the State Department, Health and Human Services and the Postal Service who would be directly affected by the elimination of coverage.

For instance, the Postal Service employee has a daughter whose doctors recommended that she get puberty blockers and potentially hormone replacement therapy for her diagnosed gender dysphoria, which would not be covered under the new OPM policy, according to the complaint.

The complaint notes that the workers are making the claim on behalf of themselves and a "class of similarly situated federal employees."

The Trump administration has taken other steps to restrict care for transgender Americans, particularly minors. In December, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Servicesreleased proposals that would block gender-affirming careto minors, including a policy that would bar Medicare and Medicaid dollars to hospitals that provide such care to children.

Senior Trump officials, such as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., call gender-affirming care "malpractice" for minors. But such restrictions go against recommendations from major medical groups such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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January 01, 2026

Federal employees file complaint against Trump administration's ban on gender-affirming care

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is facing a new legal complaint from a group of government employees who are ...

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Musk says Neuralink to start 'high-volume' production of interface devices by 2026

BENGALURU, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Elon ​Musk's ‌brain implant company ‌Neuralink will start "high-volume production" of ⁠brain-computer ‌interface devices and ‍move to an entirely automated ​surgical procedure ‌in 2026, Musk said in a post ⁠on the ​social ​media platform X on ‍Wednesday.

(Reporting ⁠by Rishabh Jaiswal in ⁠Bengaluru; Editing ‌by Rashmi ‌Aich)

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January 01, 2026

Musk says Neuralink to start 'high-volume' production of interface devices by 2026

BENGALURU, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Elon ​Musk's ‌brain implant company ‌Neuralink will start "high-volume production...

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At Zohran Mamdani's swearing in, Rama Duwaji remains art-world chic

As New York City's first lady,Rama Duwajichannels art-world chic.

The Syrian-American illustrator held two Qurans asZohran Mamdanitook the oath of office as New York City mayor after midnight on New Year's Day, in a minimalist black coat, a knee-length black dress or skirt and black ankle boots, with a pair of gold, sculptural statement earrings.

Duwaji, 28, has continued to subvert expectations in her clothing choices as the incoming first lady, favoring understated, modern looks with creative-class sensibility. Online, she's seen insimilarly modernist looks, and as the34-year-old democratic socialistmade hisvictory speechin November, Duwaji was by his side wearing a dark denim square-neck top by Palestinian-Jordanian designer Zeid Hijazi and a Ulla Johnson black skirt, also with statement dangling earrings by New York City jewelry designer Eddie Borgo.

Duwaji obtained a master's degree in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Washington Post as well as Apple and Spotify.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Duwaji, 28, was born in Houston to Syrian parents, spending part of her childhood in Dubai.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Get to know Rama Duwaji, Zohran Mamdani's wife and NYC's youngest first lady

Duwaji obtained a master's degree in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Washington Post as well as Apple and Spotify.

Rama Duwaji, illustrating her own life,is more than Zohran Mamdani's wife

At Mamdani's swearing in, he called taking the office "the honor and a privilege of a lifetime" after signing the paperwork and paying a $9 filing fee to make it official.

Mamdani, who was also surrounded by his parents, Mahmood Mamdani and Mira Nair, was administered the oath by New York Attorney GeneralLetitia Jamesunder the Spanish-tiled arches of alandmarked former subway station below City Hallin Lower Manhattan.

Inauguration live updates:Zohran Mamdani takes office as NYC mayor

Mamdani will also be sworn in outside City Hall bySen. Bernie Sandersafter an introductionby Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Mamdani is the 112th person — but thefirst Muslim and the first person of South Asian descent— to lead the nation's largest city. By taking his oath on the Quran, he is now the first mayor of New York to do so,according to the New York Times.

Contributing: Victoria E. Freile, Eduardo Cuevas, Dan Morrison and Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Zohran Mamdani's wife Rama Duwaji faithful to all-black aesthetic

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January 01, 2026

At Zohran Mamdani's swearing in, Rama Duwaji remains art-world chic

As New York City's first lady,Rama Duwajichannels art-world chic. The Syrian-American illustrator held two...

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Will There Be a “Stranger Things” Spinoff?

Courtesy of Netflix

NEED TO KNOW

• Netflix has multiple Stranger Things spinoffs in the works, including some co-creator Matt Duffer referred to as a "clean slate"

• An animated show, first announced in 2023, will feature the original characters and premiere later this year

• The sci-fi show wrapped its fifth and final season on Dec. 31

After nearly a decade,Stranger Thingshas come to an end — but fans may get to revisit the world created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer again soon.

Netflix's nostalgia-filled sci-fi show wrapped its fifth and final season with the release of its series finale on Dec. 31, bringing to an end the characters' long fight against the terrors in the Upside Down. Though the Duffer brothers have assured that all possible loose ends have been tied up, spinoffs are already in the works.

Speaking toVarietyin October ahead of the release of season 5's first wave of episodes in November, the Duffers stressed the importance of giving the story closure.

"We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer and Vecna and the Upside Down and Hawkins and these characters," Matt said. "This is a complete story. It'sdone."

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

That being said, fans can still head to Broadway to see the prequel play,Stranger Things: The First Shadow,which first opened in London in December 2023 before making its Broadway bow in April 2025.

And in early November 2025, Netflix unveiled a first look atStranger Things: Tales from '85, an animated series first announced in 2023, which is set in Hawkins in winter 1985. According to the official logline, "the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town."

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

"With animation, there's really no limits," Ross toldTudum.

"And it's nice, because the kids can stay young forever," Matt toldVariety. The show will premiere later this year and feature an entirely new cast voicing the beloved characters.

But the Duffers have confirmed another spinoff in the works as well — only that will feature "a different decade and different characters, but of course, still connected to theStranger Thingsuniverse," Ross toldTHR. "It's an idea we've had for years and something we're just really excited and passionate about."

As Matt toldVariety, "You're starting with new characters. It's like clean slate. You're not tied up into any knots."

"It's really its own entity," he added to ScreenRant.

As Ross noted toVariety, the spinoffs are "going to live in a bit of a different world. There's going to be connective tissue, but you're almost anthologizing in a way. Because we're notStar Wars. We can't be like, 'Oh, now we're on this planet.'"

Courtesy of Netflix

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

While the Duffer brothers are creating the new series and will be, as Ross toldVariety, "heavily creatively involved" and "helping shepherd it along," they won't be its showrunners, as they have a new deal to develop projects for Paramount.

All five seasons ofStranger Thingsare available for streaming on Netflix.Stranger Things: Tales from '85will premiere on Netflix later this year.

Read the original article onPeople

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January 01, 2026

Will There Be a “Stranger Things” Spinoff?

Courtesy of Netflix NEED TO KNOW Netflix has multiple Stranger Things spinoffs in the works, including some co-creator Matt Duffer refer...

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What we know about the 'Stranger Things' spinoff — plus the one cast member who guessed it correctly

For the Duffer brothers,Stranger Thingsmarks the end of an era… sort of. Though the hit Netflix series is coming to an end after nine years and five seasons, fans won't be saying goodbye to theStranger Thingsuniverse for good. In fact, Ross and Matt Duffer have practically said as much: There's aStranger Thingsspinoff in the works.

The Duffers have remained tight-lipped when it comes to sharing details about the spinoff, though they have sharedsomeinsight into what fans may be able to expect — and aStranger Thingsstar has even weighed in on the discourse.

Will the same cast be involved? And what exactly have the Duffer brothers said about it? Yahoo is rounding up everything we know about theStranger Thingsspinoff (so far), below.

Will theStranger Thingscast return for the spinoff?

Unfortunately,Stranger Thingsfans shouldn't expect to see any familiar faces in the spinoff series. Matt Duffertold Screenrantof the forthcoming project: "It relates in some ways, but it really is a completely different story and a completely different location with completely different actors and characters. So it's its own. It's really its own entity."

What else do we know about the spinoff?

While it won't follow the Hawkins gang we've come to know and love, theStranger Thingsspinoff, Matt Duffer previouslytold Variety, will still be part of the show's brand and style of storytelling, and will revolve around "kids, adventures, sci-fi/fantasy, rather than increasingly expand what could become an insanely convoluted mythology."

"You're starting with new characters — it's like clean slate," he told the outlet. "You're not tied up into any knots. There's something refreshing about it."

The Duffers will be involved in "helping shepherd it along," per Variety, but given theirnew Paramount deal, they won't serve as showrunners of the spinoff.

Has theStranger Thingscast said anything about it?

So far, Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, is the only member of theStranger Thingscast to correctly guess what the spinoff may revolve around.

"Nobody — not Netflix, not any of the producers, not any of the directors, not any of the actors — nobody else has figured out what the spinoff is. Finn figured [it] out, which is pretty remarkable," Ross Duffertold Variety. "We've mind-melded with this kid a bit."

While chatting with Variety, Wolfhard speculated about what the forthcomingStranger Thingsspinoff could be about, and compared it to another beloved cult series.

"Like David Lynch'sTwin Peaks," he told the outlet. "Sort of an anthology and different tones but similar universe or same universe. I think set in different places and all tied together through this mythology of the Upside Down. Don't even talk about Hawkins. Don't have any mention of our characters. They were toying around with ideas in case Netflix wanted them. I'm sure they do, and I'm sure it will happen, but there's nothing official. I think the coolest way, the way that I would do it, there has to be labs everywhere. If there was one in Hawkins, there's one in Russia. Where else could they be?"

TheStranger Thingsspinoff was confirmed in November 2025 when Matt Duffertold Deadline, "We are moving forward with it. Netflix, they finally know what it is. We held it. They were so frustrated. We just would not tell them. Finn guessed what it was. So he was the only one who knew."

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January 01, 2026

What we know about the 'Stranger Things' spinoff — plus the one cast member who guessed it correctly

For the Duffer brothers,Stranger Thingsmarks the end of an era… sort of. Though the hit Netflix series is coming to an e...

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Waitress paraded sparkler-topped champagne bottle through bar seconds before blaze

Credit: via X

The New Year's Eve party was well under way when tragedy struck.

As around 200 revellers were celebrating in the packed basement of Le Constellation bar, a barmaid carrying a champagne bottle topped with a sparkler made her way through the crowd.

The barmaid, carried on the shoulders of a colleague, held the bottle above her head near the basement's ceiling, setting it alight, witnesses said.

Footage taken inside shows theflames rapidly spreading along the roofabove the bar as the music continues playing at around 1:30am local time on New Year's Day. A crowd of party-goers, the vast majority being aged between 15 and 20, rushed to escape via a narrow flight of stairs through a single door.

Credit: via X

Others tried to smash windows to escape as the fire started spreading to the ground floor. But many were left trapped inside after the basement's ceiling collapsed on top of them, witnesses said.

Several dozens of people were killed and 100 seriously injured in the fire. Many of the victims are believed to have been trapped, with reports suggesting there were not enough emergency exits.

Police are investigating whether the bar, which videos show was densely packed, had exceeded the legal limit on the number of customers.

Emma, a French witness, said the fire spread "in seconds".

"Some of the bottles were near the ceiling and it caught fire. The whole ceiling was in flames and the fire spread really fast. It happened in seconds. We all ran outside, screaming and crying," she told French news channel BFMTV.

"I saw a young man writhing in agony on the floor. His body and his hair were badly burned and half of his face had gone. I think he must have died."

Panic-stricken parents rushed to the scene from around the town and beyond to find out whether their children were trapped inside. Video showed young people piling out of the pub screaming as they escaped the flames and black smoke.

Sitting 25 miles north of the Matterhorn mountain and 81 miles south of Zurich, the upmarket resort town of Crans-Montana is popular with British tourists and visitors from elsewhere, there for the skiing and the party atmosphere.

Billed by some as the "best place to celebrate New Year's Eve" in the town, Le Constellation was packed with young people, largely aged between 15 and 20, witnesses said.

"The party was in full swing ... music and champagne flowing freely," according to one witness.

Lighting sparklers in bottles in the cramped confines of the basement had even featured in a promotional video for the venue posted on social media previously.

It showed waitresses wearing crash helmets walking through the club, waving pyrotechnics flaring out of Dom Perignon champagne bottles precariously close to the beamed ceiling.

Credit: YouTube / Constellation Crans Montana

Another witness, called Albane, said she saw the ceiling catch fire after the firework was lit in the bottle.

"It was clearly accidental," the witness added.

One young man watching from across the street said he saw about 20 people scrambling to escape the smoke and flames.

Likening what he witness to a "horror movie", he told The Telegraph: "We are broken. Apparently there were sparklers. They should be banned."

"How did this happen? I heard screaming after. People ran out everywhere and then fire engines came," he added.

Crans-Montana's local authority had banned fireworks and sparklers during the New Year's Eve celebrations over concerns that a lack of rain over the past month had left conditions dangerously dry, increasing the risk of fires catching and spreading quickly.

A local reported hearing loud explosions coming from the vicinity of the Le Constellation.

"I heard a number of massive bangs, which sounded like bombs going off. It was crazy," they said. "I live hundreds of yards from the bar. I heard screaming and screaming and people running."

Adrien, an eyewitness who was outside the club when the fire broke out, described the horror of watching those inside flee for their lives.

"There was a young man with burns on the pavement outside who kept saying: 'It hurts, I'm in pain, please call an ambulance.'" he said.

Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene, with emergency services from neighbouring countries deployed to assist the rescue operation.

Credit: TikTok / ladzdrie92i

The intensive care unit and operating theatre at the regional hospital were overwhelmed with victims and those suffering the worst burns were sent to university hospitals across Switzerland.

With the scale of the tragedy quickly becoming apparent, the authorities called on residents to show caution over the coming days to avoid placing further strain on the medical system.

Michela Ris, the deputy mayor of the Swiss town of Ascona, who was in Crans-Montana to celebrate New Year's Eve, described how she was still frantically searching for friends on New Year's morning.

"Some acquaintances told me about young people leaving the bar covered in blood, some without their clothes. It was a real bloodbath," she told Swiss media.

"We have friends who are not responding to messages. Maybe they are just asleep, but we don't know if, after being at our house, they went straight home or if they went for one last drink, perhaps to the very club where the tragedy took place.

"We are very worried and are trying to contact everyone, one by one, to make sure they are okay. We are devastated."

As morning broke, residents and commuters gathered outside, many in tears, devastated at the night's events in their town.

Around 50 family members were waiting for news on their missing loved ones.

Referring to the sparkler that caused the fire, a bus driver told The Telegraph: "They're banned in a lot of clubs and they should never be allowed anywhere near crowded places. This is an absolute tragedy."

As the region declared a period of mourning Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government, told reporters: "This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare."

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January 01, 2026

Waitress paraded sparkler-topped champagne bottle through bar seconds before blaze

Credit: via X The New Year's Eve party was well under way when tragedy struck. As around 200 revellers we...

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