15DEC23 Current Events

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Across
  1. 2. this Russian leader is seeking his 5th term in office
  2. 5. French luxury fashion brand turned a street in Manchester into a catwalk for a prestigious fashion show last Thursday
  3. 6. This Biden has been charged with nine criminal counts in California
  4. 7. this woman sewed the first US flag (lastname)
  5. 8. Moody’s ratings agency downgraded THIS Asian country’s credit outlook to negative
  6. 9. Santa's official post office is in this Scandinavian country
  7. 12. cartoon character, dressed in a light-blue puffer and a striped hat, is a Gen Z holiday obsession
  8. 13. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who will leave Congress at the end of the month, represents a district in this US state
  9. 16. name of the meteor shower that was spotted in the night sky this week
  10. 17. this word, taken from the middle of "charisma", has been named Oxford’s 2023 Word of the Year
  11. 18. Republican primary voters will go to the polls for the first time in this US state (2 words no spaces)
Down
  1. 1. player that won this year's heisman trophy (lastname)
  2. 3. A23a is the world's largest _________.
  3. 4. The first flag adopted by the Continental Congress had this many stars
  4. 6. last state to have its star added to the flag
  5. 10. an unusually colored alligator has been born at a wildlife park in Florida; which color?
  6. 11. this Asian country is the new leading producer of the world's supply of opium
  7. 12. In the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," what gift is given on the seventh day
  8. 14. Fortnite has launched a collaboration with this toymaking company
  9. 15. A drought in Spain is causing a shortage of this product of which Spain is the world's largest producer (2 words no spaces)
  10. 16. European country credited with the creation of the tradition of the Christmas tree