CHRISTMAS

Tom Cruise's latest adventure as Agent Ethan Hunt - Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - released by Paramount Pictures, topped the weekend box office collections, having grossed more than $26 million during the Christmas holiday weekend (Dec. 23 - Dec. 25), according to Rentrak.

There were five games scheduled for Dec. 25; the third of these - the Chicago Bulls vs the Los Angeles Lakers made for some nail-biting moments.

Christmas is over and it is also time to bid a fitting farewell to your special Christmas tree. The best option is go green by recycling them. Real Christmas trees can be recycled in many ways.

After Christmas Sales 2011: Walmart, Best Buy, Target's Best Holiday Shopping Deals

A 47-year-old mother lost her three children in a Christmas morning house fire in an upscale Stamford neighborhood in Connecticut that has left five people dead.

Check out a collection of photographs that show how Christmas was celebrated across the world...

Gift Card Exchange Day is celebrated on Dec. 26. Find out which sites are best for exchanging your cards for cash today.

While Black Friday may be know as the best shopping day with the best holiday deals, the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, is a close second and may even take the cake. Whether you've got your heart set on a deal on a tablet computer or searching for a sexy dress for that New Year's Eve party you've been postponing to RSVP for, here are the 10 best stores with the cheapest post-holidays deals during the 2011 after Christmas sales both online and in stores.

Seven people aged 18 to 60 have been found shot dead in their apartment in a Texas suburb, likely killed Christmas morning just after opening their holiday gifts. Though police would not reveal the victims' identities or speculate on motive, they did say they believed the shooter was among the dead.

At least 39 people are reported dead in Nigeria after a series of church bombings during holiday services and one suicide bomber attack by Muslim extremists left a horrifying mark on Christmas Day. As world leaders condemn the attacks, Nigerians ask why President Jonathon failed to prevent them, with some youths rioting and setting up burning barricades in the street.

Is Walmart open on Christmas? The many eager shoppers who took to Google to find out Walmart's Christmas store hours might be downtrodden.

Whether you want to send off a last-last-minute present or get a jump on your post-holiday shopping, here is a complete rundown of what stores are open Christmas Day, Dec. 25. Is Walmart open on Christmas? Can you pick up a prescription at Walgreens Pharmacy? What about stores open on Christmas Eve, like Target and Kmart? Find out here.

The best after-Christmas sales from favorite retailers like Barnes & Noble and BestBuy.

As Prince Philip recovers from emergency heart surgery this Christmas, it's unsurprising that Queen's Elizabeth II's 59th annual holiday message is a poignant one of family, strength and community spirit. Read a full text of her Christmas message, watch her video here, and find links to all her Christmas broadcasts since 1952.

NORAD teamed up with Google Earth once again in 2011, tracking Father Christmas' progress around the world as volunteers fielded 100,000 calls. As NORAD reports a record holiday, find out how the Santa Tracker got started, and check out 2011's best Google Earth videos tracking Santa's progress, from the Great Wall and Taj Mahal to Hilo, Hawaii.

Christmas is celebrated around the world by millions. Most of the Christmas celebrations are alike and has common idea and message. But the Christmas traditions in some communities and countries vary drastically. These traditions are anything from unusual to bizarre and funny. Here is a glimpse to the most unusual and bizarre Christmas traditions in the world.

The North American Aerospace Command who is tracking Santa’s route said that with lots of present this year Santa Claus is also breaking records this Christmas Eve.

Track Santa’s Location Here: He is in the United States; Delivered over A Billion Gifts [REFRESH for Latest Updates]

Pope Benedict XVI ushered in Christmas for the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics on Saturday, urging humanity to see through the superficial glitter and commercialism of the season and rediscover the real significance of the humble birth of Jesus.

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama continued the tradition of responding to the calls made by the children from across the country that are very excited and curious to know where Santa is on Christmas Eve.

Santa's high-tech sleigh has been fixed by the elves, after a forced landing near Wall Street in New York City. The sleigh developed significant problems, according to Claus, when interviewed at the Killarney Rose, in the Wall Street area earlier tonight. NORAD covered for him, maintaining a normal looking progress video. The sleigh had to employ both scram jets and go to hypersonic flight to make up its lost time.