Critics Choice and Golden Globes screenplay nominees for an early National Screenwriters Day

An early happy National Screenwriters Day! Like last year, I'm examining the Critics Choice and Golden Globes screenplay nominees for the first Sunday entertainment feature of 2026. Since the Critics Choice Awards are tonight, I'm beginning with their nominees.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer – Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (A24)
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Zach Cregger – Weapons (Warner Bros.)
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby (A24)
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (Neon)

Gold Derby's prognosticators think this category is one of Sinners' best chances to win a Critics Choice Award, along with Best Young Actor or Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Score, all categories where it's first on the leaderboard. Ryan Coogler is the choice of every expert, 88.9% of editors, and 89.8% of users. The editors and users disagree on the rest, as 11.1% of editors picked Sorry, Baby, a shift from Marty Supreme on Friday, for but only 0.6% of users, ranking it fifth by Gold Derby's algorithm. The users rank Sentimental Value, Weapons, and Marty Supreme higher with 6.1%, 2.0%, and 1.0% selecting them, respectively. Just 0.4% are behind Jay Kelly. I wonder what the editors know about Sorry, Baby.

Next, a category I covered in Science fiction movie nominees at the Critics Choice Awards for Science Fiction Day.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams (Netflix)
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don Mckellar, Jahye Lee – No Other Choice (Neon)
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Will Tracy – Bugonia (Focus Features)
Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet (Focus Features)

One Battle After Another leads the Gold Derby odds as the choice of every editor, 84.6% of experts, and 89.8% of users. The remaining 15.4% of experts and 6.2% of users picked Hamnet. No Other Choice, Frankenstein, Bugonia, and Train Dreams follow with 1.9%, 1.3%, 0.6%, and 0.1% of users supporting each, respectively.

That was on Friday. Today, One Battle After Another still leads as the choice of every editor, 81.3% of experts, and 90.9% of users. The experts and users are moving in opposite directions. The remaining experts are now split between Hamnet and Train Dreams with 12.5% and 6.3% expert expectations of winning, respectively. Hamnet is now the pick of 6.5% of users, followed by No Other Choice, Frankenstein, Bugonia, and Train Dreams follow with 1.0%, 0.9%, 0.4%, and 0.3% of users supporting each, respectively. What have the experts learned about Train Dreams since Friday?


 The Golden Globes do not distinguish between adapted and original screenplays and they also nominated a screenplay that the Critics Choice Awards did not recognize. As I usually write in awards show posts, electorates matter. So do selection committees.

Here, the leading nominees for adapted and original screenplays are contending with each other and One Battle After Another is Gold Derby's choice to win over Sinners with the former in first as the choice of 72.7% of experts, 50.0% of editors, and 66.1% of users and the latter in third as the selection of 9.1% of experts, 16.7% of editors, and 9.5% of users. Second place? It Was Just an Accident, picked by 18.2% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 17.8% of users. It's also the leading nominee for Best Non-English Film over Sentimental Value, which has user support of 3.4% for Best Film Screenplay. Hamnet and Marty Supreme trail as the choices of 2.1% and 1.0% of users.

I expect I will return to both the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes to report on the winners of the former and the TV and movie nominees for the latter. In the meantime, I'm closing with National Day Calendar's National Screenwriters Day | January 5.

You’ve probably heard of Steven Spielberg, the great director, who is known for Saving Private Ryan, Raiders of The Lost Arc, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

But do you know that Spielberg didn’t write any of those movies? They were all written by the screenwriter (Robert Rodat, Lawerence Kasdan, and Melissa Mathison respectively).

Inside the industry, these screenwriters are well known for their ability. They crack the story, create great roles for actors, and write memorable dialogue. But there are also writers in living rooms all around the world, tapping away at their keyboards, writing what could be the next breakout movie.

Previous posts about the 2025 Critics Choice Awards

• 'Severance,' 'The Diplomat,' and 'The Pitt' tie with four nominations at the Critics Choice Awards
• 'Nobody Wants This' leads comedy nominees at the Critics Choice Awards, but could lose to 'The Studio'
• 'Adolescence' leads TV nominees at the Critics Choice Awards
• Science fiction movie nominees at the Critics Choice Awards for Science Fiction Day

NASA, NBC News, and WESH look back at 2025 and ahead to 2026 in space

I closed Science fiction movie nominees at the Critics Choice Awards for Science Fiction Day by telling my readers, "Stay tuned for NASA's look back at 2025 and ahead to 2026." Watch NASA: 2025 Review and 2026 Preview.

In 2025, we stacked the Artemis II rocket, certified next-generation lunar spacesuits, celebrated 25 years on the International Space Station, and snapped the closest pictures ever taken of the Sun.

We’re not just going back to the Moon in 2026 – we’re paving the way to Mars, exploring the stars, and dominating the skies, setting the stage for a historic year ahead.

That makes up for not having a video ready in time for 2025 in space from ESA, KING 5, Business Casual, and the Marsh Family. As I wrote in 2025 in review from NBC News, Vox, GMA, Time, and Google for New Year's Eve, "I can at least continue one of my New Year's traditions!"*

NBC News updated the story last night in The New Space Race.

It’s going to be a busy year for space exploration with American Astronauts scheduled to make a return visit around the moon, traveling further than any human ever. NBC News’ Tom Costello spoke to the crew.

I wrote "I expected a space race between the U.S. and China over the U.S. returning to the Moon before the Chinese get there" five years ago, and that's exactly what's happening. This time, I'm glad I'm right, because it will get humans back on the Moon and working to get to Mars.

WESH 2 News in Orlando added more detail in Historic launches set for the new year.


Starship is running behind schedule and holding up a lunar landing, so I'm rooting for Blue Origin to either win the contract or inspire SpaceX to get its act together in time.

None of the above sources mentioned a major NASA story taking place on the ground. WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore covered that in Future of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center appears to be in jeopardy.

The future of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center appears to be in jeopardy, according to a letter penned by a United States representative on Monday. In the letter, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-California, a ranking member on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, brought forth concerns about "disturbing reports" of a potential imminent closure at the Greenbelt campus. The letter, written to Sean Duffy, the U.S. Transportation secretary and acting administrator of NASA, said the possible closure of labs and facilities at the campus "put essential hardware and capabilities at great risk."

This is not good news for space science, including research that would help with exploring the Moon and Mars. Add this to the examples of one of 2025's science breakdowns, "Trump roils U.S. science." Ugh.

*I almost didn't because of what's happening in Venezuela. I decided to go ahead and let the late-night talk show hosts do the work for me tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Science fiction movie nominees at the Critics Choice Awards for Science Fiction Day

Happy World Science Fiction Day! Normally, I'd post something about the Saturn Awards, but this year's nominees still haven't been announced, although the website now says "Stay tuned!" That means that nominees will be announced soon. Watch, they'll be published on the website later today; Science Fiction Day would be a good occasion to do that.

Instead, I'm returning to the Critics Choice Awards to examine the science fiction film nominees. There aren't many, although the most nominated would be surprising if I hadn't already teased it in the preview image.

BEST PICTURE
Bugonia (Focus Features)
Frankenstein (Netflix)
Hamnet (Focus Features)
Jay Kelly (Netflix)
Marty Supreme (A24)
One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Sentimental Value (Neon)
Sinners (Warner Bros.)
Train Dreams (Netflix)
Wicked: For Good (Universal Pictures)

Before I discuss the science fiction nominee(s), I'm sharing the relevant paragraph from the press release because it did a lot of work for me.

“Sinners” leads the Critics Choice Awards film contenders with an impressive 17 nominations, nearly matching the record of 18 that “Barbie” achieved two years ago. “Sinners” collected a nod for Best Picture, while cast members Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, and Miles Caton are up for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Young Actor / Actress respectively. Ryan Coogler was recognized in the categories of Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, and the film also received nods for Best Casting and Ensemble, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Makeup, Best Visual Effects, Best Stunt Design, Best Song, Best Score, and Best Sound. “One Battle After Another” followed closely behind “Sinners,” earning 14 nominations.

Frankenstein and Hamnet follow with eleven nominations, Marty Supreme with eight, Sentimental Value and Wicked: For Good with seven, Train Dreams with five, Jay Kelly with four, and Bugonia with three. Sinners and Frankenstein are horror, One Battle After Another is an action/thriller film, Hamnet, Marty Surpreme, Sentimental Value, and Train Dreams are dramas, Wicked: For Good is a fantasy musical, Jay Kelly is a comedy, and Bugonia is the only one IMDB tags as science fiction (and alien invasion, to boot). That written, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus is often considered the first science fiction story, but all of its movie adaptations are classified as horror, including this one.* Because of that, I'm focusing on Bugonia today.

Despite Sinners leading in nominations, Gold Derby's prognosticators think it's likely to lose to One Battle After Another, as 92.9% of experts, 75.0% of editors, and 85.9% of users expect the latter to win, while 7.1% of experts, 25.0% of editors, and 7.8% of users selected Sinners as their first choice. The rest of the users have split among Marty Supreme with 1.9%, Frankenstein with 1.7%, Wicked: For Good with 1.2%, Hamnet with 0.6%, and Train Dreams with 0.5%. No one has picked either Bugonia or Jay Kelly.

Before I continue with Bugonia's two other nominations, I'm examining another best movie category.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Arco (Neon)
Elio (Pixar Animation Studios)
In Your Dreams (Netflix)
KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKIDS)
Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Animation Studios)

Wikipedia lists both Arco and Elio as science fiction, while the rest are fantasy with the possible exception of Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, which is just animated drama. Interestingly, IMDB also tagged KPop Demon Hunters as superhero; I never thought of Huntrix as a magical girl team, but they are.

KPop Demon Hunters is the only nominee with a second nomination for Best Song. It's also Gold Derby's choice to win this category with every editor and expert plus 89.6% of users ranking it first. Zootopia 2 follows with 7.8% of users, then Little Amélie or the Character of Rain at 1.7%, Arco with 0.6%, then Elio and In Your Dreams tied at 0.2%. This isn't science fiction's category, either.

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (Focus Features)
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value (Neon)
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)
Emma Stone – Bugonia (Focus Features)

This is probably Bugonia's best category, but Gold Derby rates Emma Stone as no better than third with 2.0% of users backing her. Jessie Buckley and Rose Byrne are both ahead of her with the professionals split between them. The experts expect Buckley to win with 84.6% of them picking her along with 25.0% of editors and 67.8% of users. Meanwhile, 75.0% of editors along with 15.4% of experts and 27.6% of users believe Rose Byrne will earn the one award for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Renate Reinsve follows with 1.6% of users, then Chase Infiniti at 0.5%, and Amanda Seyfried at 0.4%.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams (Netflix)
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don Mckellar, Jahye Lee – No Other Choice (Neon)
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein (Netflix)
Will Tracy – Bugonia (Focus Features)
Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet (Focus Features)

One Battle After Another leads the Gold Derby odds as the choice of every editor, 84.6% of experts, and 89.8% of users. The remaining 15.4% of experts and 6.2% of users picked Hamnet. No Other Choice, Frankenstein, Bugonia, and Train Dreams follow with 1.9%, 1.3%, 0.6%, and 0.1% of users supporting each, respectively. I plan on recycling this award for the first Sunday entertainment feature, which will be an early celebration of National Screenwriters Day.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the science fiction and scifi-adjacent film nominees.

Welcome to 2026 with popular bands at the Rose Parade!

Happy New Year! I'm sharing my favorite bands in the Rose Parade for New Year's Day, courtesy of Music Amenities and Music213. I begin with Music Amenities wishing Happy New Year! | 2026 PCC Tournament of Roses Herald Trumpets.

For old times, good times, and everything yet to come.

Welcoming the new year with "Auld Lang Syne", performed by the 2026 Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Herald Trumpets.

That was worth it for the preview image alone. Now the full performance from Music Amenities, 2026 PCC Tournament of Roses Herald Trumpets & Honor Band + FLYOVER! | 2026 Bandfest 3 - FULL SHOW.

The Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Herald Trumpets and Honor Band perform at the 45th Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Bandfest Show 3, held on Tuesday, December 30, 2025.

Luis at Music213 did his usual great work recording the band in 2026 PCC Tournament of Roses Honor Band & Herald Trumpets (Show 3) - 2026 Pasadena Bandfest, but he missed the flyover. Darn.

Next, a band I feature every Veterans Day, but never before on New Years Day, USMC West Coast Composite Band - 2026 Pasadena Bandfest from Music213.

The United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band performing at the 45th Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Bandfest on Tuesday, December 30, 2025. Their last performance at Bandfest was in 2014 with the 3D Marine Aircraft Wing Band and 2013 with the full composite band. What a treat to see the composite band back at Bandfest!

I agree, Luis!

Follow over the jump for the rest of the most popular bands at Music213 I'm watching before the Rose Parade proper begins.

2025 in review from NBC News, Vox, GMA, Time, and Google for New Year's Eve

Happy New Year's Eve! For the final year-end retrospective of 2025, I'm going through the best year-in-review videos, beginning with NBC News' 2025 Year in Review: Trump tariffs, Charlie Kirk, Zohran Mamdani, Rob Reiner and more.

NBC News recaps 2025's biggest news stories, from tariffs imposed by President Trump, the murder of political activist Charlie Kirk, Zohran Mamdani's victory in the New York City mayoral election and more.

It's been quite the year, as headlines from weather, space, and entertainment joined economics, politics, and general news as the highlights of 2025.*

Vox had their own take on the year about to end in 2025, in 8 minutes.

2025 was dominated by the second iteration of the Trump administration, the release of the Epstein files, and government shakeups that ranged from the longest federal shutdown in history to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announcing her resignation. It was also a year of historic political moments — from a ceasefire in Gaza to Gen Z-led government protests abroad, and the rise of young politicians like Zohran Mamdani.

Along the way, the world got its first American pope, Labubu became a household name, and China upended the AI conversation with the introduction of DeepSeek. Amid seemingly endless government transitions, the year closed with a growing sense of unrest as the US launched new strikes in multiple countries. Let’s take a look back at the jam-packed events that defined 2025.

I don't recall NBC News mentioning Labubu, while Vox made the collectables their featured image of 2025. So did Good Morning America's 'The Year' looks at our obsessions in 2025.

Deborah Roberts takes us through a preview of the movies, TV shows, trends and more that we just couldn't get enough of this year ahead of "The Year's" premiere on Dec. 29.

That's a good summary of entertainment and pop culture beyond movies, which I already covered, as well as being a promotional announcement disguised as a news segment. As I last mentioned in Local news covers the marching bands in the 2025 Macy's Parade, "It's not just news value that's driving it."

For a more somber look at the year in entertainment and culture, I'm sharing TIME's In Memoriam: Notable People We Lost in 2025.

A moment to look back and reflect on some of the noteworthy people who died this year.

R.I.P.

I close with Google's 2025 — Year in Search.

This year, we searched for ways to rediscover, reinvent, and rethink what’s possible. See how people reimagined their worlds in 2025.

This is driven by the users, not filtered through professional expert news judgment, but it covered most of the same material. Also, it was inspiring, which is more than I can say about the rest of the videos. That makes it a fit way to end the year.

Stay tuned for some of my favorite bands at the Rose Parade for New Year's Day.

*Speaking of space, I whined about NASA not uploading a 2025 in review video on Monday. The U.S. space agency finally did yesterday, combining it with a look ahead to 2026. I plan on posting that on Saturday, January 3rd. I can at least continue one of my New Year's traditions!

2025 in weather and climate — L.A. fires, Hurricane Melissa, and one of three warmest years

Today's year-end retrospective is this year's version of '2024 becomes the world's hottest year on record, fueling extreme weather events,' the year in climate and weather. I open with The Weather Network's Year in Review: How Extreme Weather and Natural Disasters Transformed 2025.

Saphia Khambalia delivers this roundup of world weather events in 2025. From California's deadly wildfires to Jamaica's Hurricane Melissa and the massive earthquakes that shook Myanmar and Russia, 2025 was a year defined by extremes.

That's an impressive list of extreme weather and related natural disasters covering the globe.

The Weather Network has more in Year in Review: 2025’s Most Intense Caught-On-Camera Weather.

This compilation showcases some of the most dramatic and terrifying moments of 2025, capturing the raw power of nature. From massive floods and destructive landslides to powerful tornadoes and shocking avalanches, witness these unbelievable events as they were caught on camera around the world.

Yikes! Also, I couldn't resist.

Closer to home, NBC News reported Extreme weather slams parts of the U.S. throughout 2025.

From the fires in Los Angeles to tornado outbreaks in the South and Midwest, the U.S. experienced extreme and sometimes deadly weather in 2025. NBC News’ Angie Lassman details the historic events.

The U.S. may have escaped hurricane landfalls this year, but the country made up for it with the L.A. fires, floods, and tornado outbreaks. Those remind me of what I wrote last year.

Seeing this reminds me of the first two questions I ask my students while watching Chasing Ice.

1. Chasing Ice opens with a montage of natural disasters. Name three of them.

The three that come to mind are floods, fires, and droughts. All of those, along with dangerous heatwaves and stronger hurricanes and tropical cyclones, appear in this report. For what it's worth, those are also among the possible answers to a question I ask about Treasures of the Earth: Power: "What are the expected effects of global warming? List three examples."

Speaking of global warming/ climate change, WION reported 2025 Among Hottest Years Ever Recorded | WION Climate Tracker.

2025 was one of three hottest years on record, scientists say. Headlines from ABC News Live[.] Catch up on the developing stories making headlines. Climate change worsened by human behavior made 2025 one of the three hottest years on record, scientists said.

I'm closing by repeating something else I wrote last year.

First, welcome to the 400 ppm world. Second, are you scared enough by climate change? My readers should be.

Stay tuned for one more year-end retrospective of 2025 for New Year's Eve.

2025 in space from ESA, KING 5, Business Casual, and the Marsh Family

Today's year-end retrospective is this year's version of 2024, another busy year in space, according to NASA, ESA, Reuters, and New Scientist. Unfortunately, NASA hasn't uploaded a year-end review video, so I'm featuring ESA highlights 2025.

2025 was a landmark year for Europe in space. From celebrating 50 years of ESA to new missions, scientific breakthroughs, the year reaffirmed Europe’s leadership in science, exploration, climate action and innovation.

At least the European Space Agency is still informing the public. I consider NASA not producing an equivalent video about 2025 for YouTube an example of one of 2025's science breakdowns.

KING 5 SEATTLE did provide some NASA footage in A look back at 2025's key moments in space travel.

NASA sets its sights on another lunar landing within the next three years.

I'm looking forward to Artemis II next year.

Business Casual (not the original account) uploaded 2025 Space, in 5 minutes.

From the 3rd interstellar object to enter our solar system, 3I Atlas, to the potential discovery of life on [M]ars, 2025 was groundbreaking year in space exploration.

I think this account is a bit suspect — there is another Business Casual account that is larger and older, but currently inactive — but this is a good montage showing space events around the world, including Katy Perry, Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, and others flying on Blue Origin to the edge of space. The Marsh Family sang about that event in "Flight from Earth" - Marsh Family parody of Katy Perry's "Firework" on the Blue Origin space launch.

This is a song about Jeff Bezos’s launch of six female celebrities into zero gravity this week, via his elite suborbital tourism outfit, Blue Origin. In lots of respects it was very slick, exciting, impressive, and a tribute to technological advances, entrepreneurial investment, and the potential of the human species to navigate new frontiers. In lots of other respects it was a bizarre, vacuous, self-indulgent, problematic, transparent PR stunt hiding behind money, reputations, weird notions of girl power, and leaving in its wake a rather foul taste and lots of environmental damage. While we have no issue with the women involved, their quest for exhilaration and a life-altering opportunity etc., we do have issues with the framing and coverage of this joyride – as many others clearly do.

If you want to celebrate women, progress, science, space travel, and the future, surely there are better models and better mechanisms out there? If you have billions of dollars, surely there are better ways you can spend it?

We chose to adapt the anthemic 2010 song “Firework” by Katy Perry – one of Bezos’s invited trail-blazing space tourists – and whatever you think about her, this is a tough song to deliver live! We shared the relentless belts between the three girls. Apologies we forgot to isolate the clicker so you may get some of that too. The original song (co-written with Ester Dean and producers Stargate and Sandy Vee) was on her biggest album Teenage Dream and is on our pump-up football playlist.

I'm not normally this cynical about space, but I couldn't resist.

That's a wrap for today's look at space. Stay tuned for more year-end retrospectives through New Year's Eve.

Best and worst movies of 2025 from Beyond The Trailer and WatchMojo

Today's year-end retrospective doubles as the final Sunday entertainment feature of 2025. I begin with Beyond The Trailer's Top Ten Best Movies of 2025.

Top Ten Best Movies of 2025 today! Beyond The Trailer host Grace Randolph gives a review of her Top Ten Movies of 2025 including a breakdown as to why each one made the cut! Find out where Marty Supreme, Wicked for Good, Weapons, KPop Demon Hunters, Sinners, Superman, Materialists, One Battle After Another, F1 The Movie and The Phoenician Scheme land on this list!

I took a snapshot of Grace's top ten.


 For comparison, I'm embedding WatchMojo's Top 20 Best Movies of 2025.

From blockbuster franchises to intimate dramas, cinema delivered unforgettable experiences in 2025! Join us as we count down the films that reminded us why we love movies in the first place. Our list includes Paul Thomas Anderson's thrilling "One Battle After Another," Ryan Coogler's genre-blending "Sinners," Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein," and many more! Which film topped your list this year? From Marvel's comeback with "Thunderbolts*" to the emotional "Hamnet" with Paul Mescal, from the horror masterpiece "Weapons" to the animated sensation "KPop Demon Hunters," 2025 offered something for every movie lover. Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below!

I recorded WatchMojo's top twenty as I watched.

1. One Battle After Another
2. Sinners
3. Hamnet
4. Weapons
5. Bugonia
6. Frankenstein
7. KPop Demon Hunters
8. The Naked Gun
9. Superman
10. Wake Up, Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
11. Sentimental Value
12. 28 Years Later
13. Marty Supreme
14. Black Bag
15. The Long Walk
16. Warfare
17. Mickey 17
18. Final Destination: Bloodlines
19. Thunderbolts*
20. Wicked for Good

Grace Randolph and WatchMojo compiled very different lists, although both agreed that One Battle After Another is the best movie of the year.

WatchMojo also compiled a worst movies list. Follow over the jump for it.

'How cheap renewable energy is finally flattening emissions' is Science Magazine's 2025 Breakthrough of the Year

I'm beginning my year-end retrospectives with Science Magazine explaining How cheap renewable energy is finally flattening emissions, its 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.

For decades, rising carbon emissions have accelerated climate change, but this year marked a critical turning point that could finally reverse that trend. Renewable energy has now graduated beyond the need for subsidies and incentives, emerging as a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels in many countries. News Editor Tim Appenzeller and policy expert Li Shuo describe the economic forces behind this shift, and the obstacles that remain to the continued rise of green energy.
...
1:15 The graph has mislabeled trend lines. "Other renewables" generate more energy than hydropower alone.

This is the same good news reported in PBS Terra says 'We Just Crossed Our FIRST Tipping Point… And It’s NOT What You Think'.

Unlike passing the other tipping points, like the AMOC, permafrost, West Antarctic ice sheet, and coral reefs, passing the renewable energy tipping point is good news. I wrote about it in DW News asks 'Earth Overshoot Day: What can we do to try live within the planet’s limits?'

[C]onvincing people to be less wasteful, particularly creating less food waste and eating less meat, especially beef, would be helpful. [One] could consider that to be a technology. So is renewable energy. Between the two, it would move Earth Overshoot Day back more than a month. Progress!

Yes, it is, and it's good news I can share with my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Science Magazine's video is shorter and more focused than PBS Terra's, so it's one I'm more likely to show to my students. Again, welcome to blogging as professional development.

Here are the runners-up:

• Custom gene editing shows promise for ultrarare diseases
• New weapons against a sexual scourge
• Neurons make a deadly donation to cancer cells
• An all-seeing eye on the sky
• Face to face with a Denisovan
• Large language models do science
• Triumph of calculation helps resolve particle mystery
• Xenotransplants set new records
• Rice that beats the heat

Including the "winner," that's four health stories, two computer science stories, one of which is also a physics story, an astronomy story, an evolution story, a genetics story that touches on climate change, and an energy story that also touches on climate change. Six of these are biology in some form, so these selections please me as a biologist. One of them is also paleontology, so I'm doubly pleased as a paleontologist. All of that is on top of the good sustainability news.

Not all of 2025's science stories were good. Follow over the jump for the bad news this year.

Flux City and Eric C Productions examine Fairlane Town Center, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse for Boxing Day

I promised "an update on the Retail Apocalypse for Boxing Day," so I'm following through with Flux City examining Dearbo[r]n Michigan's Fairlane Mall and the Collapse of the Traditional Shopping Mall, a video my wife found — thanks!

In this episode, Eddy breaks down troubling reports that Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn may owe nearly $4 million in unpaid property taxes.

Drawing from personal memories of growing up in Metro Detroit and professional experience as a developer, Eddy explains why Fairlane Mall has long mattered to Dearborn and surrounding communities—and why this situation signals a much larger issue facing malls across the country. He explores how declining foot traffic, e-commerce, shifting consumer behavior, and outdated mall formats are putting pressure on once-dominant retail assets.

While I write about national and global issues, I'm still based in Metro Detroit, so I'm always happy to encounter relevant local creators like Eddy. They will uncover situations like Fairlane Town Center's that sources with a national focus wouldn't even notice. They will also hit close to home. Like Northland Mall, I shopped and mall-walked at Fairlane Town Center. That was more than 20 years ago, when I taught at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn. I found Fairlane Town Center impressive then, but the reality looks different now. Sigh.

Eddy described the current situation at Fairlane Town Center. Eric C Productions recounted the mall's history in Do You Remember Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn Michigan?

Fairlane Town Center is a super-regional shopping mall in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan. The mall is adjacent to The Henry Hotel, The Fairlane Club, the University of Michigan–Dearborn, Henry Ford Community College, The Henry Ford, and the Ford Motor Company headquarters. The anchor stores are Macy's and JCPenney, with vacant anchor spaces last occupied by AMC Theatres, Sears, and Ford Motor Company offices.

Following a major renovation in 2007, the mall features a large food court, full-service restaurants, several eateries, and merchandise for the urbanized market.[2] The mall is about a 15-minute drive from downtown Detroit, Wayne State University, or Metro Airport.

Eric C counts six anchor stores closing. Not really. Hudson's becoming Marshall Field's, which was then renamed to Macy's, were just changes in ownership and branding; the locations were still in business afterwards, and the Macy's is still open, so I count four, maybe three-and-one-half because of the change from Saks Fifth Avenue to Saks Off Fifth because of the change in location, footprint, and branding despite the continuity of ownership. That's still not good. Viewers can see the Retail Apocalypse in action through the late 2010s into the 2020s as stores and offices close.

That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for year-end retrospectives through New Year's Eve.