Snoop Dogg takes over Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings game with ‘Holiday Halftime Party’
NFL Christmas Gameday (Netflix)
Who needs Santa on Christmas when you have a performance from Snoop Dogg?
Snoop entertained fans Thursday with his Holiday Halftime Party, part of Netflix‘s NFL Christmas Day telecast. The performance took place at halftime of the matchup between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings and began with an introduction from Snoop’s longtime friend Martha Stewart, who put her own spin on the classic “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
“I sprung from my bed and said, ‘What is cracking?’ Hailing from the one and only LBC, give it up for Snoop D -O- Double G,” Martha said as she flipped the pages to a book with illustrations of Snoop.
Snoop then emerged dressed in a red suit and coat, performing songs including “The One and Only,” “My Favorite Things” and “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang.” He was backed by an orchestra, a marching band and dancers.
Huntr/x, the trio behind Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters movie, joined Snoop for a pop rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas” and then Lainey Wilson followed with “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” arriving in a white sleigh. Andrea Bocelli later took the stage with his son Matteo Bocelli to duet on “White Christmas.”
Russia-Ukraine war: Russian control of Ukrainian territory as of Feb. 2026 (Google Earth , Institute for the Study of War)
LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country on Tuesday, telling compatriots in a statement, “We have defended our independence, we have not lost our statehood.”
The fifth year of Russia’s war — the full-scale portion of which began in 2022 building on its 2014 invasions of Crimea and the eastern Donbas region — begins with tortuous U.S.-led peace talks ongoing, but a settlement seemingly still far away.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting all along the 750-mile front and long-range attacks continue unabated.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 133 drones and one ballistic missile into the country overnight, of which 111 drones were shot down or suppressed. The missile and 19 drones impacted across 16 locations, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed at least 97 Ukrainian drones overnight.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy placed flowers at the national memorial near the wall of the St. Michael’s Monastery, in the center of Kyiv. He then attended a service at the nearby Saint Sophia Cathedral.
In his statement, Zelenskyy lauded the resolve and bravery of the Ukrainian people, recalling his initial reaction to Russia’s full-scale invasion in the early hours of Feb. 24, 2022. His video statement also included footage of the bunker from which he worked at the beginning of the war.
“Our people did not raise a white flag — they defended the blue and yellow one. And the occupiers, who thought they would be met here with crowds waving flowers, saw lines at the recruitment centers instead,” the Ukrainian president said.
Zelenskyy ran through a timeline of the war to date, touching on Ukraine’s most famous battlefield victories and noting a litany of alleged Russian war crimes. He assured citizens, “We will do more, because Russia does not stop, unfortunately, and wages war by every method — against peace, against us, against people.”
“Putin understands he is not capable of defeating Ukraine on the battlefield, and the ‘second army in the world’ is fighting against apartment buildings and power plants,” he added.
Zelenskyy again raised the prospect of President Donald Trump visiting Ukraine — an offer the White House is yet to take up. His predecessor, President Joe Biden, visited Kyiv in 2023.
“Only by coming to Ukraine, and seeing with one’s own eyes our life and our struggle, feeling our people and the enormity of this pain — only then can one understand what this war is really about. And because of whom,” Zelenskyy said.
“It is an attack by a sick state on a sovereign one, and that Putin is this war. He is the cause of its beginning and the obstacle to its end. And it is Russia that must be put in its place. So that there can be real peace,” he added.
As the war grinds into its fifth year, Zelenskyy said, “Putin has not achieved his goals. He has not broken Ukrainians. He has not won this war. We have preserved Ukraine, and we will do everything to secure peace and justice.”
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia is “continuing our efforts to achieve peace, our position is very clear and consistent. Now everything depends on the actions of the Kyiv regime.”
“The goals have not yet been fully achieved, so the special military operation continues,” Peskov said in response to Zelenskyy’s statement, using a longstanding Kremlin phrase to refer to its full-scale invasion.
A teacher from Gurukul school of art paints a poster of US President Donald Trump (L) and Supreme Leader of Iran Mojtaba Khamenei (R) with a message welcoming two weeks of ceasefire between US and Iran outside their art school in Mumbai. (Ashish Vaishnav/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(PARIS and LONDON) — Foreign leaders expressed hope for a full peace deal to end the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in their reactions to Tuesday’s two-week ceasefire, which was first announced by President Donald Trump and later confirmed by Iranian officials.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post to X that the ceasefire agreement “will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world. Together with our partners we must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire, turn it into a lasting agreement and re-open the Strait of Hormuz.”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani likewise suggested the ceasefire was “a very positive development” which “moves us toward a peace agreement — for the civilian population, for the region, and for Israel — but also for our economy.”
German Friedrich Merz thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts, adding in a post to X, “The aim now is to negotiate a lasting end to the war. We are in close coordination with our partners on this matter.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said the ceasefire brought “much-needed de-escalation” and said that further negotiations are “crucial.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has been a prominent European critic of the war, said in a post to X that the ceasefire was “welcome news,” but added, “Momentary relief must not make us forget the chaos, the destruction, and the lives lost.”
“The Spanish government will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket,” Sanchez added. “What is needed now: diplomacy, international law, and PEACE.”
French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that the situation in Lebanon — another theater of the conflict in which Israel is fighting against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia — is “critical.”
Macron said the ceasefire extended to Lebanon, as did Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, though Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said overnight that Lebanon was not included in the agreement. Israel continued intense strikes in Lebanon, including on Beirut, on Wednesday.
Macron called the ceasefire “a very good thing” and said the question of Lebanon is “one of the most delicate.” Hezbollah, Macron said, made a “strategic error” by attacking Israel and dragging Lebanon into the regional crisis, but said Israel’s strikes and occupation of southern Lebanon “cannot be a long-term response.”
Persian Gulf and other regional nations also welcomed the ceasefire in Iran, though several reported fresh Iranian drone and missile attacks on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry expressed its support for the pause in a statement posted to X, while Qatar’s Foreign Ministry described the ceasefire as “an initial step toward de-escalation.” Doha also stressed “the necessity for the Islamic Republic of Iran to take the initiative to immediately cease all hostile acts and practices.”
Oman — traditionally a mediator of U.S.-Iranian talks — said in a Foreign Ministry statement that it affirmed “the importance of intensifying efforts now to find solutions capable of ending the crisis at its roots and achieving a permanent cessation of the state of war and hostile acts in the region.”
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry in a post to X “emphasized the importance of opening the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring freedom of international navigation without restrictions in accordance with international law.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said in a post to X that the news “undoubtedly brought relief to the hearts of millions of peace-loving people across all corners of the earth,” adding that Cairo valued Trump’s “decision to heed the voice of reason.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement expressing its backing for the peace process, adding, “We will continue to extend all necessary support for the successful conclusion of the negotiations to be held in Islamabad,” referring to Friday’s planned talks.
Iranian protesters participate in a pro-Government rally in Tehran, Iran, on January 12, 2026. The rally takes place in Tehran against the recent anti-government unrest, opposition to the U.S. and Israel in Iran, and in support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The death toll from major anti-government protests in Iran reached at least 2,000 as of Tuesday, according to data published by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), over 16 days of unrest.
U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday, “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”
“I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump added.
At least 10,721 people have been arrested, HRANA said in an earlier update on Tuesday, in protests that have been recorded in 606 locations in 187 cities across all 31 Iranian provinces. Among the dead are at least nine children, the group reported.
The HRANA data relies on the work of activists inside and outside the country. ABC News cannot independently verify these numbers. The group earlier on Tuesday said 646 people had been killed. The Iranian government has not provided any death tolls during the ongoing protests.
Iranian state-aligned media, meanwhile, has reported that more than 100 members of the security forces have been killed in the unrest. HRANA said that 133 military and security personnel were among those killed in the protest wave to date, along with one prosecutor.
Trump on Monday announced a 25% tariff on any country doing business with Iran, after repeatedly warning Tehran against the use of force to suppress the ongoing protests.
“Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” Trump said in a social media post on Monday. “This Order is final and conclusive.”
In response to the announcement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the position of Beijing — which is a key trading partner for Tehran — “is very clear — there are no winners in a tariff war. China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”
China “supports Iran in maintaining national stability,” she added. “We have always opposed interference in other countries’ internal affairs and the use or threat of force in international relations.”
Members of Trump’s national security team — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA Director John Ratcliffe — met Tuesday morning to discuss Iran, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump did not attend the meeting, nor was he scheduled to, she said.
One U.S. official told ABC News that among the options under consideration regarding Iran are new sanctions against key regime figures or against Iran’s energy or banking sectors.
Leavitt suggested to reporters on Monday that military options remain open to Trump.
The president, she said, “is always keeping all of his options on the table and air strikes would be one of the many, many options on the table for the commander in chief. Diplomacy is always the first option for the president.”
Citing “escalating” protests and increased security measures, the State Department also urged Americans to leave Iran.
U.S. citizens should expect continued internet outages, plan alternative means of communication, and, if safe to do so, consider departing Iran by land to Armenia or Türkiye,” a new security alert posted on the U.S. “virtual” Embassy Tehran website on Monday stated.
Protests have been spreading across the country since late December. The first marches took place in downtown Tehran, with participants demonstrating against rising inflation and the falling value of the national currency, the rial.
As the protests spread, some have taken on a more explicitly anti-government tone.
The theocratic government in Tehran — headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — moved to tame the protests, with security forces reportedly using tear gas and live ammunition to disperse gatherings.
A sustained national internet outage has been in place across the country for several days. Online monitoring group NetBlocks said on Tuesday that the “nationwide internet shutdown” had been ongoing for 108 hours.
The United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement on Tuesday that hundreds of people had been killed and thousands arrested.
Turk said he was “horrified by the mounting violence against protesters” and urged Iranian authorities to immediately halt all forms of violence and repression, and restore full access to internet and telecommunications.
Khamenei and top Iranian officials have said they are willing to engage with the economic grievances of protesters, though have framed the unrest as driven by “rioters” and “terrorists” sponsored by foreign nations — prime among them the U.S. and Israel — and supported by foreign infiltrators.
On Monday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the wave of protests as a “terrorist war” while speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran.
Also on Monday, state television broadcast footage of pro-government rallies organized in other major cities.
The footage showed crowds waving Iranian flags in Tehran’s Revolution Square. State television described the Tehran demonstration as an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism.”
Dissident figures abroad, meanwhile, have urged Iranians to take to the street and overthrow the government.
Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi — who from his base in the U.S. has become a prominent critic of the Iranian government — on Monday appealed to Trump to act in support of the protesters.
“I have called the people to the streets to fight for their freedom and to overwhelm the security forces with sheer numbers,” Pahlavi wrote on X. “Last night they did that. Your threat to this criminal regime has also kept the regime’s thugs at bay. But time is of the essence.”
“Please be prepared to intervene to help the people of Iran,” Pahlavi added.
ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian, Morgan Winsor, Meredith Deliso, Anne Flaherty, Mariam Khan, Othon Leyva, Britt Clennett, Joseph Simonetti and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.
