<h3 style="padding:3px 7px; margin:8px 0; background-color:#CEF2E0;">Today's Featured Article</h3>[[File:President-Jefferson-Davis.jpg|left|255x255px|style=max-width:40%; margin-right:10px;]]'''[[Jefferson Davis]]''' (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was the [[wikipedia:President_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America|president of the Confederate States of America (CSA)]] from 1861 to 1865. He previously represented [[wikipedia:Mississippi|Mississippi]] in the [[wikipedia:United_States_Senate|United States Senate]] and [[wikipedia:United_States_House_of_Representatives|House of Representatives]] as a [[wikipedia:Democratic_Party_(United_States)|Democrat]], and was the [[wikipedia:United_States_Secretary_of_War|U.S. secretary of war]] from 1853 to 1857. A graduate of [[wikipedia:United_States_Military_Academy|West Point]], Davis served in the [[wikipedia:United_States_Army|U.S. Army]], fighting in the [[wikipedia:Mexican–American_War|Mexican–American War]]. He was a cotton [[wikipedia:Planter_class|planter]] and owned as many as 113 slaves. During the [[wikipedia:American_Civil_War|Civil War]], Davis served as commander in chief. When the CSA was defeated in 1865, he was captured, accused of involvement in the [[wikipedia:Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln|assassination of Abraham Lincoln]] and of [[wikipedia:Treason#United_States|treason]], and imprisoned at [[wikipedia:Fort_Monroe|Fort Monroe]]. He was released without trial after two years. Immediately after the war, Davis was often blamed for the CSA's defeat but, after his release from prison, the [[wikipedia:Lost_Cause_of_the_Confederacy|Lost Cause]] movement deemed him a hero, and he was celebrated in the South. In the 21st century, however, he has been viewed more harshly, and many [[wikipedia:List_of_memorials_to_Jefferson_Davis|memorials to him]] have [[wikipedia:Removal_of_Confederate_monuments_and_memorials|been removed.]] ''('''[[Jefferson Davis|Full article...]]''')''
<h3 style="padding:3px 7px; margin:8px 0; background-color:#CEF2E0;"><small>Today's Featured Article</small></h3>[[File:Edith Swan and Rose Gooding.jpg|alt=style=max-width:40%; margin-right:10px;|left|thumb|200x200px|<small>Edith Swan (left) and Rose Gooding (right)</small>]]<small>The '''[[Littlehampton libels]]''' were a series of letters sent to numerous residents of Littlehampton, in southern England, over a three-year period between 1920 and 1923. The letters, which contained obscenities and false accusations, were written by Edith Swan, a thirty-year-old laundress; she tried to incriminate her neighbour, Rose Gooding, a thirty-year-old married woman. Swan and Gooding ''(both pictured)'' had once been friends, but after Swan made a false report to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children accusing Gooding of maltreating one of her sister's children, the letters started arriving. Many of them were signed as if from Gooding. Swan brought a private prosecution against Gooding for libel. Gooding was imprisoned twice, but Scotland Yard investigated and cleared her. Swan was prosecuted in December 1921. A similar case of letters being sent over several years was reported in 2024, in the village of Shiptonthorpe, East Yorkshire. ''('''[[Littlehampton libels|Full article...]]''')''</small>
* <small>Filmmaker and actor '''[[Rob Reiner]]''' ''(pictured)'' and his wife are stabbed to death in Los Angeles.</small>
* <small>Sixteen people, including a gunman, are killed in '''a mass shooting attack''' on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney.</small>
* <small>Bulgarian prime minister [[Rosen Zhelyazkov|'''Rosen Zhelyazkov''']] ''(pictured)'' and his government resign after '''days of protests'''.</small>
* <small>[[wikipedia:Clair_Obscur:_Expedition_33|'''Clair Obscur: Expedition 33''']] wins Game of the Year at '''[[wikipedia:The_Game_Awards_2025|the Game Awards]]''' (producer and host [[Geoff Keighley]] pictured).</small>
<h3 style="padding:3px 7px; margin:8px 0; background-color:#CEDFF2;">Wiki News</h3>[[File:Philip J. Pierre img.jpg|right|frameless|150x150px]]- In Saint Lucia, the [[wikipedia:Saint_Lucia_Labour_Party|Labour Party]], led by Prime Minister [[Philip J. Pierre]] ''(pictured)'', '''[[wikipedia:2025_Saint_Lucian_general_election|retains its majority]]''' in the [[wikipedia:House_of_Assembly_of_Saint_Lucia|House of Assembly.]]
* <small>In Australia, a ban on the use of certain social media platforms by under-16s comes into effect.</small>
* Playwright and screenwriter '''[[Tom Stoppard]]''' ''(pictured)'' dies at the age of 88.
* In motorsport, [[wikipedia:Sébastien_Ogier|Sébastien Ogier]] (pictured) and [[wikipedia:Vincent_Landais|Vincent Landais]] win the World Rally Championship.
* In motorsport, Sébastien Ogier (pictured) and Vincent Landais win the World Rally Championship.
* <small>In motorsport, [[Lando Norris|'''Lando Norris''']] ''(pictured)'' wins '''the Formula One World Drivers' Championship'''.</small>
* Flooding and landslides caused by Cyclone Ditwah leave at least 469 people dead across Sri Lanka and India.
* An apartment complex fire in Hong Kong leaves at least 156 people dead.
* In Guinea-Bissau, armed forces seize power in a military coup, arresting President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and proclaiming Horta Inta-A Na Man as head of a transitional government.<p style="float:right;">More current events •</p>
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* <small>In Benin, '''a coup attempt''' by members of the armed forces is thwarted. Architect and designer '''Frank Gehry''' dies at the age of 96.</small>
* <small>In Saint Lucia, the [[wikipedia:Saint_Lucia_Labour_Party|Labour Party]], led by Prime Minister [[Philip J. Pierre]] ''(pictured)'', '''[[wikipedia:2025_Saint_Lucian_general_election|retains its majority]]''' in the [[wikipedia:House_of_Assembly_of_Saint_Lucia|House of Assembly.]]</small>
<h3 style="padding:3px 7px; margin:8px 0; background-color:#CEDFF2;">Today's Featured Picture</h3>[[File:McCULLOCH, Hugh-Treasury (BEP engraved portrait).jpg|border|left|513x513px|style=max-width:40%; margin-right:10px;]]<big>[[Hugh McCulloch]] (December 7, 1808 – May 24, 1895) was an American financier who played a central role in financing the [[wikipedia:American_Civil_War|American Civil War]]. He served two non-consecutive terms as [[wikipedia:United_States_Secretary_of_the_Treasury|United States Secretary of the Treasury]] under three presidents. He was originally opposed to the creation of a system of national banks, but his reputation as head of the [[wikipedia:Bank_of_Indiana|Bank of Indiana]] from 1857 to 1863 persuaded the Treasury to bring him in to supervise the new system as Comptroller of the Currency from 1863 to 1865. As Secretary of the Treasury from 1865 to 1869 under [[Abraham Lincoln]] and [[wikipedia:Andrew_Johnson|Andrew Johnson]], McCulloch reduced and funded the gigantic Civil War debt of the Union, and reestablished the federal taxation system across the former [[wikipedia:Confederate_States_of_America|Confederate States of America]]. He served another six months as Secretary of the Treasury from 1884 to 1885, at the close of [[wikipedia:Chester_A._Arthur|Chester A. Arthur's]] term as president. This [[wikipedia:Line_engraving|line-engraved]] portrait of McCulloch was created by the [[wikipedia:Bureau_of_Engraving_and_Printing|Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP)]] as part of a [[wikipedia:US_Treasury_specimen_book|BEP presentation book]] of the first 42 secretaries of the treasury; McCulloch's portrait was used on the 1902 [[wikipedia:United_States_twenty-dollar_bill|United States twenty-dollar bill.]]</big>
<h3 style="padding:3px 7px; margin:8px 0; background-color:#CEDFF2;">Today's Featured Picture</h3>[[File:African Chaffinch (Fringilla spodiogenys) female Sfax.jpg|alt=style=max-width:40%; margin-right:10px;|border|center|950x950px|'''Leopard seal''']]The '''[[African chaffinch]]''' (''Fringilla spodiogenys'') is a species of passerine bird in the genus ''Fringilla''. The African chaffinch is found from southern Morocco to northwestern Libya, and in Italy on the islands of Lampedusa and Pantelleria. There is also an isolated population in northeastern Libya. Its habitat includes deciduous forests and lowlands, and during the nonbreeding season extends its habitat to open areas including weedy fields and olive groves. The diet of the African chaffinch is similar to the Eurasian chaffinch, consisting mostly of small invertebrates and their larvae as well as flowers, seeds, and buds. This female African chaffinch was photographed in Sfax, Tunisia.
<small>Photograph credit: [[wikipedia:User:Charlesjsharp|Charles J. Sharp]]</small>
<b>Recently featured: [[Siege of Baghdad]] [[Golden-shouldered parrot]] •</b> [[wikipedia:Template:POTD/2025-12-02|Pedro II of Brazil]] • [[wikipedia:Template:POTD/2025-12-01|The Massacre of the Mamelukes]]
<b>Recently featured: [[Leopard seal|Leopard Seal]] . <small>[[Glassblowing]] • [[Hugh McCulloch]] • [[Siege of Baghdad]] [[Golden-shouldered parrot]] • [[wikipedia:Template:POTD/2025-12-02|Pedro II of Brazil]]</small></b>
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Latest revision as of 04:14, 16 December 2025
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Today's Featured Article
Edith Swan (left) and Rose Gooding (right)The Littlehampton libels were a series of letters sent to numerous residents of Littlehampton, in southern England, over a three-year period between 1920 and 1923. The letters, which contained obscenities and false accusations, were written by Edith Swan, a thirty-year-old laundress; she tried to incriminate her neighbour, Rose Gooding, a thirty-year-old married woman. Swan and Gooding (both pictured) had once been friends, but after Swan made a false report to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children accusing Gooding of maltreating one of her sister's children, the letters started arriving. Many of them were signed as if from Gooding. Swan brought a private prosecution against Gooding for libel. Gooding was imprisoned twice, but Scotland Yard investigated and cleared her. Swan was prosecuted in December 1921. A similar case of letters being sent over several years was reported in 2024, in the village of Shiptonthorpe, East Yorkshire. (Full article...)
Leopard sealThe African chaffinch (Fringilla spodiogenys) is a species of passerine bird in the genus Fringilla. The African chaffinch is found from southern Morocco to northwestern Libya, and in Italy on the islands of Lampedusa and Pantelleria. There is also an isolated population in northeastern Libya. Its habitat includes deciduous forests and lowlands, and during the nonbreeding season extends its habitat to open areas including weedy fields and olive groves. The diet of the African chaffinch is similar to the Eurasian chaffinch, consisting mostly of small invertebrates and their larvae as well as flowers, seeds, and buds. This female African chaffinch was photographed in Sfax, Tunisia.
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