Entertainment
King Charles and royal family, minus Andrew, gather for Christmas at Sandringham
King Charles III and members of the royal family — minus his disgraced brother, the former Prince Andrew — walked to church for Christmas services Thursday morning on the king’s private Sandringham Estate, where they traditionally gather for the holiday.
Charles and Queen Camilla, along with the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, and their children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, and their extended family attended the service at St. Mary Magdalene Church at Sandringham, in Norfolk, about 100 miles north of London.
Jordan Peck / Getty Images / JORDAN_PECK
Members of the royal family also stopped to greet people in the crowd outside.
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Andrew was not present for the holiday gathering, BBC News reported, in the wake of the scandal over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He did not attend last year either. In October, he was stripped of his remaining titles and honors, including prince, and is now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Later in the day, the king’s annual Christmas Day speech to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth is expected to focus on the theme of pilgrimage.
His address was recorded at Westminster Abbey, the landmark known as the site of lavish coronations and royal weddings it has hosted for more than 1,000 years. The abbey is also the focus of an annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Edward the Confessor, which lies at the heart of the church. Edward, a monk-like monarch, was canonized as a saint in 1161.
The monarch’s annual holiday message is watched by millions of people in the U.K. and across the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 independent nations, most of which have historic ties to Britain. The prerecorded speech is broadcast at 3 p.m. there, when many families are enjoying their traditional Christmas lunch.
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The speech is one of the rare occasions when Charles, 77, can voice his own views and doesn’t seek guidance from the government. It usually has a strong religious framework, reflects current issues and sometimes draws on the monarch’s personal experiences.
This is Charles’ fourth Christmas speech since ascending to the throne after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died in September 2022.
The address comes just two weeks after Charles made a deeply personal television appearance in which he said “good news” from his doctors meant that he would be able to reduce his treatment for cancer in the new year.
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The king was diagnosed with a still undisclosed form of cancer in early 2024. Buckingham Palace says his treatment is now moving to a “precautionary phase” and his condition will be monitored to ensure his continued recovery.
During last year’s Christmas address, Charles honored care workers around the country and gave a special thanks to the doctors and nurses who supported him after his cancer diagnosis.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, also underwent treatment for cancer last year. She said in January that she was in remission after going through some “hard times” during her recovery. Kate, as she is widely called, has not shared details about what type of cancer it was.
She and her husband, Prince William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, have three children: 12-year-old Prince George of Wales, 10-year-old Princess Charlotte of Wales and 7-year-old Prince Louis of Wales.
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Entertainment
See Hailey Bieber’s Valentine Day tribute for Justin Bieber
Hailey Bieber gave fans a rare peek into her Valentine’s Day celebrations with husband Justin Bieber, sharing a light-hearted and affectionate moment that kept things personal and understated.
The Rhode founder posted to her Instagram Stories on Saturday, revealing a handwritten note that read, “You are my forever Valentine,” finished with a red kiss mark.
She followed it with a close-up snap of chocolate-covered strawberries, suggesting the couple marked the day with a cosy, low-key treat rather than anything over the top.

Hailey, 29, and Justin, 31, have been married since 2018 and are parents to a son, Jack Blues, who is just over a year old.
While the couple tend to keep their family life private, Hailey’s Valentine’s Day posts offered a gentle snapshot of their relationship at home.
Away from the holiday romance, Hailey also found herself in the spotlight last week after stepping out at the Sydney premiere of Wuthering Heights.
The model turned heads in a plunging, completely sheer black lace gown by Saint Laurent.
Hailey also leaned into romance in another way ahead of Valentine’s Day by sharing a post suggesting that her bond with Justin is written in the stars.
On Friday, Feb. 13, she reposted a picture from an astrology-focused meme account highlighting their zodiac signs. Born on Nov. 22, Hailey is a Sagittarius, while Justin, who turns 32 on March 1, is a Pisces.
The post showed the couple in PDA, with “Sagittarius” written above Hailey and the phrase “a Pisces who takes them places and lets them be wild” across Justin.
The post, which explored how different signs connect with Sagittarius in relationships, was captioned, “Which sign is our valentine this year #sagittarius #zodiac #astrology #explore #horoscope.”
Hailey liked the post and reshared the image, which was originally taken on holiday and had appeared in a black-and-white Instagram photo dump she shared back in November.
At the time, Justin reacted simply, commenting, “Oh my f—in god.”
Together for nearly eight years, the Biebers continue to share glimpses of their relationship in subtle ways, blending quiet family moments, public appearances and playful nods to their connection as Valentine’s Day came around once again.
Entertainment
Maya Hawke, Christian Lee Hutson tie knot in Valentine’s Day Ceremony
Maya Hawke and Christian Lee Hutson have officially tied the knot, exchanging vows in a romantic Valentine’s Day ceremony in New York City on Feb. 14.
The couple said “I do” during a low-key but star-studded wedding, marking a meaningful milestone in a relationship that began as a long friendship.
According to PEOPLE, the ceremony took place in the city they both call home, with close family and friends in attendance.
For the special day, Hawke wore a white wedding dress with a classic ball gown silhouette, paired with a lace veil and an oversized, feathery white coat that added a winter-ready touch.
Hutson kept things timeless in a black tuxedo, complete with a white shirt, vest and a floral boutonniere.
Hawke’s parents, Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, were both present to support their daughter.
Thurman was photographed in a light blue, floor-length look with matching shoes, while Ethan Hawke wore an all-black ensemble and was seen holding his daughter’s bouquet as he walked alongside her.
He later walked Hawke down the aisle. Also attending was Hawke’s brother, Levon Roan Thurman-Hawke.
Several of Hawke’s Stranger Things castmates were spotted at the ceremony, including Finn Wolfhard, Joe Keery, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink and Natalia Dyer, underscoring just how personal the celebration was for the actress.
Following the ceremony, the newlyweds and their guests made their way to a reception at The Players Members Club, where the celebrations continued for hours.
The wedding comes after years of creative and personal collaboration between Hawke and Hutson.
The pair were friends for four years before their relationship turned romantic while working together on Hawke’s 2024 album, Chaos Angel.
Speaking on The Zach Sang Show in June 2024, Hawke praised the foundation of their relationship, saying, “I cannot recommend highly enough dating your friends. It’s the best.”
Hutson subtly confirmed their engagement last year during a radio interview when Hawke was referred to as his “fiancée,” replying simply, “Yeah.”
Not long after, Hawke was photographed in New York wearing a diamond ring, fuelling further speculation.
Music has remained central to their bond.
Hutson has appeared on Hawke’s albums Moss and Chaos Angel, while Hawke features on his most recent release, Paradise Pop. 10, and even joined him on stage during parts of his 2025 tour.
Reflecting on their partnership, Hawke previously said Hutson had been “so encouraging” as she grew into her identity as a musician.
Now married, the couple’s Valentine’s Day wedding feels like a fitting next chapter for two artists whose friendship, creativity and romance have grown hand in hand.
Entertainment
Global pandemic of ‘shrinking attention span’
Attention span refers to the duration for which a person can maintain concentration on a single task, activity, or stimulus.
Being a crucial part of humans’ cognitive functioning, it influences how we learn, work, and interact with the surroundings.
The shrinking attention span is more like a global pandemic that has affected every individual on the planet directly or indirectly. Research shows that the average attention span of a human is only 8.25 seconds which is less than that of a goldfish (9 seconds).
This is considered one of the most documented cognitive shifts of the 21st century. Research led by Dr Gloria Mark at the University of California, Irvine, has traced the average duration of focused attention on digital screens over the 20-year period.
The research found that in 2004, the average attention span was approximately 150 seconds which reduced to 75 seconds in 2012. Recent data from 2012 reveals that this figure has decreased to 75 seconds. While in 2024, the average attention span has plummeted to just 47 seconds.
This suggests a broader restructuring of the human cognitive baseline. The decline is primarily linked to the disruption between two main attention systems i.e., the involuntary system (reacts to external stimuli) and the goal-oriented system (enables sustained focus).
Digital platforms especially social media are engineered to trigger the involuntary system via constant notifications, vibrant visual cues, and algorithmic unpredictability. This constant trigger systematically fatigues the prefrontal cortex (region of brain responsible for executive function and impulsive control).
How does the human brain shift attention?
With each instance of attention shifting, “switching cost” occurs. It refers to the measurable reduction in performance particularly slower reacting times and increased errors that usually happen when the brain shifts attention from one task, rule, or mental set to another.
As human brain works as a serial processor, it can’t multitask in the literal sense. Rather, it engages in rapid task-switching. To process each switch, it requires several minutes for the brain to regain its focus.
In a digital environment dominated by short-form content, where a user consumes different content of 15-to-30-second videos in a single session, the brain remains in a continuous state of partial attention.
This continuous state prevents the human’s cognitive system from entering a flow state, a condition where the brain can develop deep engagement that’s required for complex problem solving and creative synthesis.
Additionally, the constant push to check notifications from social media platforms activates the sympathetic nervous system that keeps the body in a state of low-level “fight or flight” mode.
The psychological stress response, measured by high heart rate and perceived stress levels, contributes to the modern epidemic of digital burnout and generalised anxiety.
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