Who is Nicole Lunders? NASCAR driver Greg Biffle’s ex wife and mother of Emma Elizabeth after deadly North Carolina plane crash (Image via Getty)

Nicole Lunders is known as the ex-wife of NASCAR driver Gregory Jack Biffle and the mother of their daughter, Emma Elizabeth Biffle. In recent days, Nicole has been in the public eye again after reports confirmed that Emma Elizabeth died in a tragic plane crash in North Carolina. Officials are still investigating what caused the crash, and many questions remain unanswered.The plane went down near Statesville Regional Airport in December 2025. Local authorities confirmed that everyone on board died after the aircraft caught fire while attempting to land. The names of the victims were not released right away. Later, family friends told Associated Press and ABC News that Emma Elizabeth was among those killed. Reports also said the flight was connected to Greg Biffle’s family. As the investigation continues, attention has turned to Nicole Lunders, not for her past marriage, but because she has lost her only child in a sudden and heartbreaking way.

Nicole Lunders and Gregory Jack Biffle were together for many years before getting married in 2007. During Greg’s rise in NASCAR, Nicole stayed mostly out of the spotlight. She was often seen supporting him at races but kept her personal life private.The couple welcomed Emma Elizabeth during their marriage. Even after Nicole and Greg separated in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2016, both remained closely involved in raising their daughter. Friends have often said Emma was the center of both parents’ lives.After the divorce, Nicole focused on being a full-time mother. She avoided public attention and did not stay active on social media. Emma, however, was sometimes seen with her father at racing events and special ceremonies. In September 2025, Emma attended an event where Greg Biffle was honored at the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame, showing they shared a strong bond.That is why the plane crash has shocked so many people. Authorities, including the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, are still working to find out what went wrong. Officials have asked the public for patience as the investigation moves forward.For Nicole Lunders, the focus now is not public attention, but grief. She is being remembered as a devoted mother facing an unimaginable loss, as the racing world and fans continue to mourn young Emma Elizabeth.Also Read: Greg Biffle Net Worth In 2025: NASCAR Star, Career, Family, Income And Death In Plane Crash

Ahmedabad: India’s Sanju Samson plays (PTI Photo/Shashank Parade)

NEW DELHI: With just 50 days to go for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, Team India’s numbers no longer scream dominance, even if recent results offer some comfort.As defending champions, India began their post 2024 title run in ruthless fashion, winning 17 of their next 20 T20Is. Eight scores crossed the 200 mark, five of them were 220 plus and three breached 245 mark, underlining a batting unit operating well ahead of the curve. That curve has flattened since the 2025 Asia Cup. India’s overall strike rate has dropped to 141.64, a worrying decline for a side that had redefined intent at the top of the order.

Since the Asia Cup, Abhishek Sharma remains the only Indian batter striking above 145. Everyone else has slowed down, and the biggest talking point changed to the new opening combination. The Sanju Samson-Abhishek Sharma partnership set the tone for India’s surge after the 2024 World Cup. Across 16 innings, the pair averaged 33.43 and scored at a blistering strike rate of 193.84. That early momentum allowed India to sustain a strike rate of 154.56 through the middle overs and 169.39 at the death.The dynamic shifted when Shubman Gill returned to the playing XI as part of the management’s long-term leadership plan. Samson, who amassed 417 runs in 12 T20Is at a strike rate of 183.70 with three centuries at the top, was pushed down the order. His Asia Cup returns were mixed, though he still finished as India’s third highest run-getter with 132 runs, behind Abhishek Sharma’s 314 and Tilak Varma’s 213. A solitary outing in Australia at No. 3 ended without impact, after which Samson was dropped from the playing XI.Gill’s own returns since his comeback have been underwhelming. In 15 matches, he has scored 291 runs at an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of 137, without a single fifty. The numbers point to a batter searching for rhythm at a time when India’s top order needs clarity more than caution.Speaking at the JioStar Press Room ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup, former India batter Robin Uthappa, who was part of the 2007 World Cup winning squad, was clear about the balance he wants to see. “I would not personally like to tinker with the opening combination,” Uthappa said. “What I would like is to see Sanju bat at No. 3, Tilak at No. 4 and Surya at No. 5. Suryakumar Yadav plays his best cricket outside the powerplay. Tilak Verma needs a pivotal role in this team and that is why No. 4 suits him.”Uthappa explained that placing Tilak Verma at No. 4 and Suryakumar Yadav at No. 5 would free up the top order. “This gives the openers and the No. 3 position the authority to go hard,” he said.

India’s Shubman Gill (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

He then addressed Gill’s role directly. “You can have someone like Shubman Gill play that sheet anchor role that India desperately need right now, so everyone else can play aggressively around him. India can still use the hyper aggressive batting template that has worked for them, while Gill bats at a 140 to 150 strike rate, which is where he thrives. It is similar to the role Virat Kohli played in the last T20 World Cup.”The concerns, however, extend beyond Gill alone. India’s intent has also dipped due to Suryakumar’s prolonged lean patch. In 2025, the captain has scored just 213 runs from 20 matches at an average of 14.20 and a strike rate of 125.29. With both captain and vice-captain struggling for form, pressure has inevitably shifted on to the middle order.At the same interaction, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan stressed that the phase of experimentation must now come to an end. “There has been a lot of talk about chopping and changing,” Pathan said. “I think the team management was trying to understand who can play different roles, but this is not the time to experiment. When the World Cup starts, it has to be very clear who is batting at what position.”That experimentation has been evident. In the last two T20I series against Australia and South Africa, India tried multiple options at No. 3, including Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and even Axar Patel.Pathan also did not hide his concern over Suryakumar’s form. “As a captain, you need to bat well and be in form going into a big tournament like the World Cup,” he said. “The concern is not just that he is not scoring runs, but that his strike rate is also going down. His strike rate is generally around 166, but over the last year it has come down to around 119.”Referring to Abhishek Sharma’s high risk approach at the top, Pathan said that such a style will inevitably lead to occasional early dismissals and that is acceptable. “He does not need to change,” Pathan said. “That is why he has been successful. But then the pressure comes on the middle order. When you have an in-form Suryakumar Yadav, it becomes a completely different game. Hopefully, he finds a way to stay a bit longer at the crease and get those runs before the World Cup.”What Team India needs right now is certainty of roles. With the World Cup fast approaching, rediscovering tempo, fixing roles and getting their leaders back among the runs may matter far more than any tactical tweak.

After becoming only the second man in American history to return to the White House after a hiatus, Donald Trump has been hellbent on leaving his mark on Washington. Not merely through policy or executive orders, but through brick, marble and nomenclature. He has pushed to break open the East Wing to make room for a sprawling White House ballroom, floated the idea of remodelling official spaces to better suit “modern presidential entertaining”, stacked cultural institutions with loyalists, and treated Washington less like a capital city than a property portfolio awaiting upgrades. The impulse is familiar: to brand power, to stamp ownership, to make the city remember who was here. It is this same instinct that has now spilled beyond the White House gates and into one of America’s most sacrosanct cultural monuments, with Trump backing the rechristening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as the Trump–Kennedy Center.

Power, but make it concrete

New plaques of explanatory text have been placed underneath presidential portraits on the Colonnade at the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Donald Trump has never been a president comfortable with abstraction. His idea of power is tactile. You can walk through it, host a dinner in it, point to it from across the street. This is why his second term has been accompanied not just by policy reversals but by an unusual fixation on physical space.

The proposed White House ballroom is emblematic. Trump has long complained that the White House is ill-equipped for large-scale entertaining, arguing that modern presidents should not have to rely on temporary tents on the South Lawn. In Trump’s mind, grandeur is not excess. It is evidence. Evidence of success, of authority, of permanence.This is the same instinct that once drove him to plaster his name in gold across Manhattan skylines. Washington, however, has traditionally resisted this kind of personalisation. Presidents come and go; the buildings remain largely unchanged. Trump has never accepted that arrangement. He does not see himself as a caretaker. He behaves like an owner.

The Kennedy Center was never meant to be flexible

Th eJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seen in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts occupies a unique place in American civic life. It is not just a venue. It was established by Congress as a living memorial to a president assassinated in office, explicitly linked to Kennedy’s belief that art was central to democratic life.That context matters. The centre’s name was not the result of philanthropy, branding or convention. It was a deliberate act of national remembrance. The idea was to freeze meaning, not renegotiate it with every new administration.Trump approaches it differently. When asked about the renaming, he framed the issue in transactional terms. “We saved the building,” Trump said, crediting his administration with securing funding and reviving the institution. In his worldview, rescue confers rights. If you fix something, you should be recognised for it.The problem is that memorials are not reward schemes. They are limits. They exist precisely to prevent present power from rewriting past meaning. Adding Trump’s name ahead of Kennedy’s is not a neutral update. It alters the hierarchy of memory. Trump first. Kennedy second. The living eclipsing the dead.

Why the Kennedys reacted with open anger

Maria Shriver, left, and her son Christopher Schwarzenegger pose together at the premiere of the film “Avatar: Fire and Ash” on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

The Kennedy family’s response has been striking not for its defensiveness, but for its tone. Maria Shriver did not issue a carefully worded statement. She spoke with disbelief. “It’s beyond comprehension to me,” she said, calling the move “beyond wild” and “so bizarre”.At another point, Shriver remarked, “Just when you think someone can’t go any lower, they do”, before urging Americans to “wake up”. There was no nostalgia in her reaction. It was moral outrage at what felt like a violation of an obvious boundary.Joe Kennedy III framed the objection in institutional terms. He pointed out that the Kennedy Center was named by law and that renaming it would be akin to renaming the Lincoln Memorial. The comparison was deliberate. Some names are meant to be untouchable, not because families demand it, but because societies do.The Kennedys are not fighting for relevance. Their name is already etched into American political history. They are fighting because they understand what happens when memorials become malleable. Once you allow power to edit memory, nothing stays fixed.

Culture wars by capture, not cancellation

Trump’s approach to culture has often been misunderstood. He is not a traditional culture warrior intent on defunding the arts or banning expression outright. His method is more effective. He captures institutions instead.By reshaping boards, installing loyalists and asserting personal authority over cultural bodies, Trump turns them into extensions of political power without ever needing to shut them down. The Kennedy Center renaming is the purest expression of that strategy.This is not about programming choices or individual performances. It is about control over context. By altering the name, Trump redefines the building’s meaning without touching what happens on stage. It is culture war by absorption rather than confrontation.The message is subtle but unmistakable. Even institutions designed to stand above politics exist at the pleasure of political power. No symbol is too sacred to be revised.

Legacy as something you can see from the street

For most presidents, legacy is an uncomfortable abstraction. It is shaped by historians, refracted through time, and rarely settles into a single narrative. Trump has no patience for that uncertainty.He prefers legacy that is physical. Names on buildings. Altered skylines. Concrete proof that does not depend on interpretation. Laws can be repealed. Policies can be dismantled. But a name carved into stone creates the illusion of permanence.This is why Trump is drawn to monuments, memorials and architectural changes. They offer something politics rarely does: durability. The Kennedy Center, in this sense, is not a memorial to another president. It is a canvas.Whether the renaming ultimately survives legal challenge is almost secondary. The intent is already clear. Trump does not want to be remembered as a president who governed well or poorly. He wants to be remembered as a figure who altered the landscape.That is what makes this episode so revealing. It is not an outburst or a distraction. It is a distillation of Trump’s governing philosophy. Power must be visible. Legacy must be branded. History must carry your name.The Kennedy family’s resistance is not about protecting a surname. It is about defending the idea that some institutions exist beyond the reach of personal ambition. If memorials can be rewritten by whoever holds office, then memory itself becomes transactional.And in Trump’s Washington, transactions are the only language that matters.

On December 1, 2025, the talented singer B Praak and his beloved wife Meera Bachan celebrated a special milestone as they welcomed their precious baby boy. Taking to Instagram, the ecstatic couple shared their joy and gratitude with their fans, sparking an outpouring of love and congratulations from their dedicated followers.

Singer B Praak took to his Instagram to announce that he and his wife, Meera Bachan, have been blessed with a baby boy. The singer dropped a picture of Lord Krishna in his baby avatar with a cow and a calf alongside. The couple expressed gratitude and joy in their collaboration post. Let’s take a look at it.

Singer B Praak and wife Meera Bachan blessed with a baby boy

The caption on the image further read, “By the divine grace of RadheShyam, we are blessed with a baby boy on December 1, 2025. Our hearts overflow with gratitude and joy. The sun rises again, bringing light, hope, and new beginnings into our lives.”The ‘Teri Mitti’ hitmaker also revealed the name of their newborn. Along with that, the couple also explained the meaning of it in their collaboration post. They lovingly named him Ddvij Bachan. The caption on the image read, “DDVIJ BACHAN. Twice Born—A Spiritual Rebirth.”Meanwhile, the caption of the post read, “Sab Radhe Radhe Hai. Jay Shree Krushna.” Take a look at the post here. Soon, netizens flooded the comment section with congratulatory messages. The dropped heart and fire emojis on the post.

More about B Praak

B Praak, whose real name is Pratik Bachan, and his wife, Meera Bachan, are popular in the Punjabi music industry. The couple got married in the year 2019. They were blessed with their first child, a boy, in the year 2020. In 2022, they had announced the loss of their second child, a boy, shortly after his birth. B Praak had posted, “With the deepest pain we have to announce that our new born baby has passed away at the time of birth. It is the most painful phase we are going through as parents. We would like to thank all the doctors and the staff for their endless efforts and support (folded hands emoji). We are all devastated at this loss, and we request you all to kindly give us our privacy at this time (folded hands emoji). Yours, Meera and B Praak.“

Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha, left, chats with Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka as they wait for coin toss before the start of the second one day international cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025.

NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka on Friday named Dasun Shanaka as captain of its preliminary 25-member squad for the T20 World Cup, removing Charith Asalanka from the leadership role after he returned home from Pakistan midway through the triangular series.Pramodaya Wickramasingha, who has returned as chairman of selectors, said Asalanka’s poor batting form and Shanaka’s experience of playing three previous World Cups led to the decision.“Shanaka’s role will be of an all-rounder. When I stopped being a selector, Shanaka was the captain. Charith (Asalanka) was in our long term plans then,” Wickramasingha said.Asalanka had been under scrutiny since he left the white-ball tour of Pakistan last month citing safety concerns after a suicide bomb explosion in Islamabad that killed nine people. During the bilateral ODI series, Asalanka, who was leading the side, wanted the tour abandoned and allegedly urged some teammates to return home. Sri Lanka Cricket did not agree with the demand and warned of action. The team later stayed on, with the final two matches rescheduled.Asalanka returned home before the triangular T20 series, officially due to ill health, following which Shanaka took over the captaincy. Days later, Asalanka has been removed as captain for the World Cup squad.Wickramasingha said the selectors wanted to reduce Asalanka’s leadership burden ahead of home series against Pakistan and England. Asalanka remains part of the squad as a batter.“We hope he will regain his batting form. In consultation with Sanath Jayasuriya (the head coach) we decided it was not the time to make too many changes. So we decided to go with the same squad,” he said.On Niroshan Dickwella’s return, Wickramasingha said he was considered for multiple roles. “As an opener, a reserve wicket keeper or even a middle order batter.”He added that going forward, the coach would also share responsibility for team performance. “We will have targets for fitness for example. I will hold the trainer responsible if the players were not able to meet the required fitness level,” he said.Sri Lanka have been placed in a group with Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Oman in the tournament, which begins on February 7.Sri Lanka Squad: Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Pavan Rathnayake, Sahan Arachchige, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Milan Rathnayake, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushan Hemantha, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Traveen Mathew.

Indian GM Raunak Sadhwani during FIDE World Cup Goa 2025 (FIDE Photo)

NEW DELHI: The COVID-19 outbreak had not yet caused a hullabaloo across the globe, Lionel Messi was still without a FIFA World Cup title, artificial intelligence (AI) had not entered everyday conversations, and Russia and Ukraine were still “non-hostile” neighbours when Nagpur’s Raunak Sadhwani attained his Grandmaster (GM) title in 2019.At 13 years nine months and 28 days, Raunak earned the highest title in chess, becoming one of the youngest Indians to achieve the feat. In the record book, he joined the likes of current World Chess Champion Gukesh Dommaraju (12 years, 7 months and 17 days), Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (12 years, 10 months and 13 days), and Nihal Sarin (14 years, 1 month and 1 day).

As Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa remain the top two names in the current FIDE rating list for juniors, Raunak, currently stationed at number eight, is not too far behind.Well, all he can recall about pursuing the GM title is the pressure during the first norm.“I was never bothered about the GM title. I’ve always felt that I would get there,” Raunak told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive conversation on the sidelines of the Global Chess League (GCL), currently taking place in Mumbai. “But my first norm was difficult. It took some time, and then it was really easy. I knew I belonged there. So I just kept playing and eventually got it.”However, the journey since then has not been easy. With the pandemic putting daily life to a standstill, and players not able to travel abroad to play in higher-rated tournaments, some players slowed down.While the likes of Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Nihal are three of the most celebrated chess players in the country, Raunak is still figuring his way around.“I definitely have to improve more. I lost rating in the last six months, so I definitely want to get back and win some tournaments and get my ELO back. So I’m working on it,” added the 2638-rated 19-year-old, who achieved a peak rating of 2681 back in January 2025.Nevertheless, the plan to “definitely have to improve” requires a proper framework, guidance, and mentorship, which the teenager is currently struggling to afford due to what many consider the dark side of professional chess: the expense.While the chess ecosystem has evolved in a way where a player is made to bear all his/her expenditures, even hiring a full-time coach is proving to be a challenge due to the lack of adequate private sponsorship.“It’s a big problem in the game. Even I still face this issue myself. I don’t have a full-time coach right now because it’s really expensive. You need a sponsor for that, and I’m waiting for one,” he revealed.“At the moment, I don’t have any. So yeah, it’s a very expensive game. Coaching isn’t easy to afford because the rates are much higher compared to other sports. So yeah, it’s not very easy for people to manage it.”In GCL this season, Raunak is sharing the same team with five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, 2025 FIDE World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov, and German talent Vincent Keymer.“It’s an interesting team with the likes of Viswanathan Anand sir, and everyone else is quite young, so I know them quite well myself. So it will be fun,” he further noted.Raunak sees the GCL as a preparatory step for the upcoming FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships, where he will take the field in Doha, Qatar.“It will be very good to stay in the flow. You’re playing rapid here and then immediately you go to Qatar to play rapid again. So it’s definitely a good warm-up to have,” the teenage Grandmaster concluded.

The Adani Group plans to invest Rs 1 lakh crore in its airports business over the next five years, betting on strong and sustained growth in India’s aviation sector, according to Jeet Adani, director of Adani Airports. Speaking to news agency PTI ahead of the launch of commercial operations at Navi Mumbai International Airport, he said the group remains highly bullish on the industry’s long-term prospects.“On the airport side, Rs 1 lakh crore in the next five years,” Jeet Adani was quoted by news agency PTI, adding that India’s aviation ecosystem could grow at 15–16 per cent annually for the next decade or more. He pointed to low per-capita air travel in India compared to China, noting that even reaching Chinese levels would require the sector to expand across multiple cities.Navi Mumbai International Airport is set to begin commercial operations on December 25, marking a major expansion of the group’s airport portfolio. The project is being developed by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd, in which the Adani Group holds a 74 per cent stake. Built at an initial cost of Rs19,650 crore, the airport’s first phase will be able to handle 20 million passengers a year, with capacity planned to scale up to 90 million passengers over time.Jeet Adani said the new airport would ease pressure on Mumbai’s existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, which has faced capacity constraints for years. “Mumbai Airport was supply constrained from 2016 onwards and wasn’t able to service the additional demand that was coming through,” he said, adding that the commissioning of Navi Mumbai would finally bring some relief.Calling the opening a landmark moment for Indian aviation, he said the project still has significant room to grow. “There is four times growth still left to do,” he noted.Beyond Mumbai, the Adani Group operates six other airports, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur and Mangaluru, and had earlier acquired Mumbai airport from the GVK Group. Jeet Adani said the group plans to bid “very aggressively” for all 11 airports identified for the next round of privatisation.On investments in aircraft services such as MRO and flight simulation training centres, he said it was too early to commit numbers, though the group remains deeply invested in expanding its expertise. “We want to keep growing our expertise and our depth,” he said.Through Adani Airport Holdings Ltd, the group is now India’s largest airport infrastructure operator, controlling about 23 per cent of passenger traffic and roughly 33% of cargo movement nationwide. Alongside capacity upgrades, the company is also expanding non-aeronautical services and city-side developments, as it looks to build diversified revenue streams.

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday held a meeting with leaders of political parties and Members of Parliament in his chamber at Parliament House, marking the conclusion of the Winter Session of Parliament 2025.Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and several other opposition leaders were present at the meeting.Earlier in the day, amid continued opposition protests over the passage of the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die.Prime Minister Modi, who returned on Thursday from a three-nation foreign visit, was present in the House during the adjournment.With this, the 19-day-long Winter Session, which had 15 sittings, formally came to an end. Several key Bills were passed during the session, and the Lok Sabha recorded a productivity of 111 per cent, reflecting what the Speaker described as strong legislative engagement by members.Rajya Sabha was also adjourned sine die on the day. Chairman C P Radhakrishnan read out a summary of the legislative and other business conducted during the session before the National Song was played.Radhakrishnan also criticised disruptions during proceedings, saying, “The conduct of members during the Minister’s reply yesterday, which included protesting and tearing of papers, was unbecoming of the House.”Opposition parties continued to oppose the VB-G RAM G Bill even after the session ended. They also staged a protest outside Parliament, while Trinamool Congress MPs continued their demonstration on the steps near the House entrance.Overall, the House functioned for around 92 hours during the Winter Session, achieving a productivity of 121 per cent. During this period, 58 starred questions, 208 Zero Hour submissions and 87 special mentions were taken up.The Winter Session of Parliament began on December 1. Adjournment sine die, Latin for “without a day,” means that a House is suspended indefinitely without fixing a date for its next sitting.