In our news wrap Friday, investigators believe sparklers started the deadly fire inside a Swiss ski resort bar that killed at least 40, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy named the country's military intelligence chief as his new chief of staff and the FBI says it thwarted a potential New Year's Eve attack in North Carolina, arresting a man who had allegedly pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Around 40 people are dead and more than 100 are injured after a fire tore through a bar in the Swiss mountain ski town of Crans-Montana. The cause of the fire is still under investigation as the Swiss face a devastating scene. Lisa Desjardins reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Thursday, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office and pledged to govern 'expansively and audaciously', protests in Iran turned fatal with at least six people killed, Russia claims a Ukrainian drone strike killed 24 people in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Kherson region and millions of Americans are facing higher health care costs after ACA credits expired overnight. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In the last two years, National Geographic Explorer Paul Salopek traversed the Chinese countryside, marched along the Korean Demilitarized Zone and fended off grizzly bears in Alaska. Now, his expedition from Africa to the tip of South America crosses into the Western Hemisphere. Stephanie Sy reports on Salopek's adventures to date. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

As the holiday season comes to a close and parts of the country face frigid temperatures this New Year's, we explore a concept of comfort, warmth and joy that began in Scandinavian countries and has recently spread to America. Deema Zein reports on the art of hygge. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

The CIA has assessed that Ukraine was not targeting a residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in a recent drone attack, a claim that Putin told President Trump, and that Trump seemed to accept. Trump now suggests that he agrees with European leaders that it's Russia blocking the path to a peace agreement. Nick Schifrin discussed more with Angela Stent. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Some call it the 'Doomsday Glacier,' a vast expanse of Antarctic ice roughly the size of Florida. As temperatures rise, the Thwaites Glacier is melting fast and threatens to raise global sea levels. That's why a team of nearly 40 researchers is embarking on a two-month journey to study it. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien is with the expedition and reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

President Trump has claimed to have solved eight conflicts since he began his second term. One of those is between Azerbaijan and Armenia, rivals since the collapse of the USSR, whose leaders met with Trump in the Oval Office this summer. Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky and producer Katia Patin travelled to the Armenian border with Iran to assess whether that agreement could lead to peace. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

It is rare that a U.S. president would announce covert action publicly. But that is what President Trump did Monday when he acknowledged a strike on a port facility in Venezuela. Media outlets reported it was the CIA that launched the drone strike. It comes as the administration is targeting not only drug smugglers, but Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro himself. Nick Schifrin reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Less than 20 miles from the Russian border is the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which has faced great trauma in the course of Russia's four-year onslaught. Despite the great personal losses of many of its soldiers and citizens, the city has not only survived, but it has also found a way for its Christian cultural life to live on, even underground. Special Correspondent Jack Hewson reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy