ThursdayThu, December 24th Edition Go Back

Today in the World Countries

EVENTS
Beijing breaks its 1951 record for sub-zero December temperatures, recording more than 300 hours as a record cold spell affects the north and northeast of China.
DEATHS
David Leland, English BAFTA, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning stage and screen director, playwright, and screenwriter (Wish You Were Here; The Borgias; Band of Brothers; Concert for George), who died at 82.

DEATHS
John Bird actor, British satirist, actor, writer, and director (That Was the Week That Was; Bremner, Bird and Fortune), who died at 86.
Mandla Maphumulo, Music Producer.
Tunisha Sharma, Indian actress (Alibaba - Dastaan-e-Kabul), found dead at 20.

EVENTS
LadBaby made chart history when his song 'Sausage Rolls for Everyone', a sausage roll-themed parody of Ed Sheeran and Elton John's No.1 single 'Merry Christmas' and also featuring Sheeran and John, debuted at No.1 in the UK Singles Chart. It gave the Nottingham-born YouTuber and musician his fourth consecutive Christmas No.1 single. LadBaby became only the second act in history, after The Beatles, to secure four Christmas No.1 singles, but was the very first to achieve four consecutive Christmas chart-toppers, surpassing the records of both The Beatles and The Spice Girls..
DEATHS
J.D. Crowe, American bluegrass banjo player and band leader (The New South), who died at 84.
MOVIES: NOT RATED
Parallel Mothers is released. Two women, Janis and Ana, coincide in a hospital room where they are going to give birth. Both are single and became pregnant by accident. Janis, middle-aged, doesn’t regret it and she is exultant. The other, Ana, an adolescent, is scared, repentant and traumatized. Janis tries to encourage her while they move like sleepwalkers along the hospital corridors. The few words they exchange in these hours will create a very close link between the two, which by chance develops and complicates, and changes their lives in a decisive way.
ALBUMS
Magic was released by Nas. The latest full-length studio release for rapper Nas was produced by Hit-Boy and features guest appearances from A$AP Rocky and DJ Premier.

DEATHS
Ivry Gitlis, Israeli classical violin virtuoso, who died at 98.
GAMING: PC
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV for PC is released. Triumph over the land, take charge of the fate of China! Conquer territories and fly your colors!
SPORTS
Geoff Stephens, English songwriter and record producer (" The Crying Game" ; The New Vaudeville Band - "Winchester Cathedral", "There's a Kind of Hush"), who died of complications from COVID-19 pandemic at 86.

EVENTS
American songwriter Allee Willis died age 72. Willis co-wrote hit songs including 'September' and 'Boogie Wonderland' by Earth, Wind & Fire and 'I’ll Be There for You' by the Rembrandts, the theme from the TV sitcom Friends. Her compositions sold over 60 million records and she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018..
DEATHS
Walter Horak, Austrian soccer striker (13 caps; Wiener Sport Club, Sochaux), who died at 88.
TV SERIES
John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch: Season 1 is released. The musical comedy special from John Mulaney with a group of 15 kids aged between 8 and 13-years-old are joined by Annaleigh Ashford, David Byrne, Jake Gyllenhaal, Richard Kind, Natasha Lyonne, Shereen Pimentel, and Andre De Shields.

DEATHS
Osvaldo Bayer, Screenwriter.
GAMING: SWITCH
Aaero: Complete Edition for Switch is released. 'Aaero: Complete Edition' is the definitive Aaero experience.The bundle includes the '1000DaysWasted - Drum & Bass Pack' and the 'Monstercat Pack' alongside the main game as well as the 'Comet', 'Sol' and 'Phaser' ship skins.

DEATHS
Heather Menzies-Urich, Canadian actress (The Sound of Music, Piranha), who died of cancer at 68.
Dick Orkin, American radio performer (Chickenman), and screenwriter (The Tim Conway Show), who died of a stroke at 84.

EVENTS
Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt died in hospital in Marbella, Spain aged 68. He died from a severe infection after going to hospital, following complications to a shoulder injury. His partnership with Francis Rossi became the core of Status Quo, one of Britain's most enduring bands. Status Quo had over 60 chart hits in the UK, more than any other rock band, including "Pictures of Matchstick Men" in 1967, "Whatever You Want" in 1979 and "In the Army Now" in 2010. Twenty-two of these reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. In July 1985 the band opened Live Aid at Wembley Stadium with "Rockin' All Over the World"..
DEATHS
Richard Adams, English author (Watership Down), who died at 96.
Rick Parfitt, British pop guitarist and singer (Status Quo - "Wanderer" ; "Pictures of Matchstick Men"), who died at 68.
Vera Rubin, American astronomer who discovered dark matter, who died at 88.
Jack Philip Cannon, British composer, who died at 87.

EVENTS
William Guest of Gladys Knight And The Pips died of heart failure at the age of 74. His background vocals can be heard on all of the group's hits, including 'Midnight Train To Georgia', 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' and the Grammy winning 'Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First To Say Goodbye)'..
BIRTHS
Chosen Newton, Family Member, born in Atlanta, GA.

DEATHS
Boniface "Buddy" DeFranco, Italian-American jazz clarinetist and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra), who died at 91.
MOVIES: PG13
Two Days, One Night is released. Sandra (Marion Cotillard) has just returned to work after recovering from a serious bout with depression. Realizing that the company can operate with one fewer employee, management tells Sandra she is to be let go. After learning that her co-workers will vote to decide her fate on Monday morning, Sandra races against time over the course of the weekend, often with the help of her husband, to convince each of her fellow employees to sacrifice their much-needed bonuses so she can keep her job. With each encounter, Sandra is brought into a different world with unexpected results. [IFC Films]