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U.S. holiday spending rises from last year, driven by high earners.

Plus, sectarian and political divisions flare in Syria, complicating work for new Islamist rulers,

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. HTS is facing their first clear challenges to their power after

seizing control of Syria from the Assad regime. And journal reporters and editors on the diplomatic

storylines to watch in 2025. It's Thursday, December 26th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal,

and here is today's edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving

your world today. The Christmas Day crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane bound for the Russian

city of Grozny was likely caused by Russian air defenses,

according to aviation security firm Osprey Flight Solutions. A Ukrainian national security official

also said in an ex post that the plane was shot down by a Russian air defense system

citing visible damage to the aircraft.

At least 38 people were killed in the crash, which occurred when the plane diverted course over an area where Moscow has been battling Ukrainian drones before crashing in Kazakhstan.

As many as 29 passengers on the flight survived.

Russian officials couldn't be immediately reached

for comment about the Osprey and Ukrainian assessments. Just weeks after seizing power,

Syria's new leaders, the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, are facing fresh

challenges to their authority, including from allies of the toppled Assad regime.

Yesterday, 14 members of the new government's security forces were killed in an ambush in a coastal province

heavily populated by Syria's minority al-Aloid sect, which includes the Assad's.

...