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“What is a Christmas movie?”

This is probably a question you’ve heard before in passing. Most of us instinctively have a good idea of what one is, but more than likely, that understanding is rather inexplicable, abstract, or trapped in the minutiae.

Only by leaning into my Christian faith did I begin to see these films and the unique glow that turns a regular film into a Christmas film.

We all know the tropes of Christmas movies — Santa Claus, joy to the world, peace and goodwill toward men, white snow on a warm Christmas morning, jingle bells, presents under the tree, hot chocolate and eggnog, sugar plums, figgy pudding, Nativity scenes, et cetera.

For most people, Christmas is a feeling and an idea as much as it is a day on the calendar. However, trying to put the abstract into words is challenging. In my capacity as a film reviewer, amateur filmmaker, and member of the Music City Film Critics Association, I have spent more than three years talking with friends and puzzling over the question for fun. For the most part, this debate was a lively intellectual exercise between my philosopher and cinephile friends and me; I can recall one particularly fun session of debate with my girlfriend as we discussed the Aristotelian implications of the definition of Christmas movies.

As it will become clear in this text, though, the answer to the question, “What is a Christmas movie?” is surprisingly hard to narrow down and answer definitively.

This was a problem I set out to try to formally solve in late 2024, during a rare moment of adult life when I had the time to sit down for three months and binge-watch out-of-season Christmas movies, while attending to a lengthy family hospice situation. As strange as it felt spending the month of October bingeing on Christmas movies, it was enlightening. Surveying films between the years 1935 and 2024, one sees a number of patterns and tropes fly by, evolving with the culture year by year.

Subsequently I partnered with my good friends at the evangelical ministry Geeks Under Grace to put my ideas to paper, publishing 10 weekly articles on the subject between November and December 2024. But even as I was penning those first essays, I struggled to find the right words; I didn’t have an answer in mind from the outset, merely a series of arguments and anecdotes. I would need to find my thesis in the act of writing this book.

There aren’t enough books written about Christmas films as a genre. If there are many, they are buried under an ocean of histories for specific films, best-of collections, or works written by obscure academics.

It’s easy enough to find resources on the production history of “It’s a Wonderful Life” but less so about the subgenre that flows out of it. Much has been said about the great entries in the subgenre: how “Miracle on 34th Street” became the first financially successful Christmas movie in 1947; how “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story” were popularized via television broadcasts; how “Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol” became the first animated Christmas special specifically released for television in 1962; how 2003’s “Elf” is the last Christmas film to be considered a blockbuster.

There is less said about what connects these data points.

One of the few experts on the subject I found was Scottish scholar Tom Christie, who has published multiple books on the history of Christmas films in the past decade through Extremis Publishing, including “The Golden Age of Christmas Movies: Festive Cinema of the 1940s and ’50s” and “A Totally Bodacious Nineties Christmas: Festive Cinema of the 1990s.” The rest of the insight I found was buried in individual articles and YouTube essays, to which I owe a tremendous debt for helping me shape the greater picture. They helped me break through my writer’s block and made the connections I needed to complete the project.

However, the seeds of insight I found in my reading turned me away from the films themselves.

From first principles, there can be no understanding of Christmas movies without first understanding Christmas. And there is no understanding of Christmas without understanding religion, society, secularism, consumerism, and the nature of what American society considers “normal.” It was only through this that the seed blossomed into what I think is the best achievable conception of a Christmas film, and only by leaning into my Christian faith did I begin to see these films and the unique glow that turns a regular film into a Christmas film.

I apologize to any secular readers who may have picked up this book imagining it would be relatively areligious, but I must beg their pardon in the necessity to discuss these issues through the lens of theology. I’m a practicing Christian, and I cannot help but think of life through the lens of a high-church Protestant. However, Christmas is a Christian holiday (at least tacitly), and I don’t think it’s possible to completely excise Jesus from the day bearing his name — at least not without turning the holiday into a parody of itself.

Christianity teaches us that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, became flesh and walked among us. He was both fully God and fully man and became the hinge of history. He was a paradox, described in His Nativity by the apologist C.S. Lewis, “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.”

The idea that a God so seemingly wrathful, distant, and lawful would be so humble as to allow Himself to be born as a fleshy human baby to a peasant woman in the backwater of the Roman Empire is strange. But this is the event Christmas celebrates — a contradiction and a miracle; the fullness of history fulfilled in humility; the logos breaching into the world; a quiet resistance manifesting against the evils of this rebelling silent planet.

Reflecting on this and the modern reality of Christmas, an idea began to unfold slowly in my mind. The realization came to me that Christmas movies are not defined so easily but are defined by a connection to the supernatural. They are downstream of something greater, containing within them a small drop of the divine-like spring water filtering into a mighty river.

That water may no longer be clear and crisp, or even drinkable, but its flowing is evidence of a source.

Christmas movies are utterly unique in modern film due to the way we interact with them. They are a subgenre unto themselves, intertextually linked with other Christmas movies and the holiday itself, but it is that very intangible glow that makes them unique. They contain an essence of what Lewis once described, in his book “The Problem of Pain,” as “the numinous”:

Those who have not met this term may be introduced to it by the following device. Suppose you were told there was a tiger in the next room: you would know that you were in danger and would probably feel fear. But if you were told, “There is a ghost in the next room,” and believed it, you would feel, indeed, what is often called fear, but of a different kind. It is not based on the knowledge of danger, for no one is primarily afraid of what a ghost may do to him, but of the mere fact that it is a ghost. It is “uncanny” rather than dangerous, and the special kind of fear it excites may be called dread. With the uncanny one has reached the fringes of the numinous.

This is not to call Christmas movies dreadful but that they contain within them a sense of the supernatural, what we might call “awe.” Connecting with that awe is downstream of the supernatural source that created it. Christmas movies grab that stream like a third rail and feel electrified by it.

It may seem like a bit of a leap to say that mean-spirited and cynical movies like “Christmas Vacation” or “Bad Santa” are in some way a reflection of God’s divinity, but as we will come to see, the thing that sets Christmas films apart from other films is an embrace of the supernatural essence of Christmas.

A Christmas movie always contains an element of hope that warps cynicism and pain of its story toward an ideal.

A Christmas movie glows with Christmas spirit.

A phrase like “the true meaning of Christmas” does this too, alluding to some unspoken notion that culture agrees upon, that Christmas is meaningful because it changes people. It scratches upon something divine while remaining achingly human and unspecific.

That thing is not entirely limited to the faithful, as secular people enjoy Christmas too. Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and atheists all celebrate Christmas in equal measure. And while I wouldn’t say they celebrate in the same manner as I do at the communion rail on Christmas morning, they are communing with something beyond the superficial layers of cheap plastic junk that Christmas would be if it were merely another day in December.

This book is the result of many months of thought and reflection, brought into the world by the good graces of my friends and colleagues who helped me write it, host it, critique it, and bring the original articles to fruition, here expanded to a thematically rounded 12 chapters. Each chapter has been revised to reflect the conclusions I discovered in the very act of writing the book. One often finds his destination only by setting out on an unknown journey!

So let us start by asking the most immediate and controversial question and then let our understanding unfold: Is “Die Hard” a Christmas movie?

From there, we will discuss Christmas as a secular phenomenon; explore Christmas movies as a subgenre; the role religion, consumerism, normality, and nostalgia play in Christmas cinema; and close on the incarnational implications of Christmas films.

What is a Christmas movie?

Let’s find out!

The above essay was adapted from the book “Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie? And Other Questions About the True Meaning of Christmas Films,” which is available here.

​Book excerpt, Entertainment, Culture, Movies, Die hard, It’s a wonderful life, Elf, Criticism, Christmas, Christianity 

A CBS reporter, with an alleged history of inaccurate reporting, accused editor in chief Bari Weiss of censoring her story for “political” reasons. But journalist Michael Shellenberger outlined other reasons Weiss may have had concerns.

A Sunday episode of “60 Minutes” was slated to air a 13-minute segment on the infamous maximum-security prison in El Salvador known as CECOT. The segment, “Inside CECOT,” aimed to highlight the stories of Venezuelan men who were deported to the terrorist detention center by President Donald Trump’s administration.

‘An editorial decision is not the same as censorship.’

Less than 48 hours before the segment was scheduled to air in the U.S., Weiss pulled it, arguing that it was flawed and incomplete, according to the New York Times. During a Monday newsroom call, she reportedly stated that the segment was removed “because it was not ready” but that she looked forward to airing it “when it’s ready.”

“We need to push much harder to get [the Trump administration’s] principals [sic] on the record,” Weiss wrote in an internal memo to “60 Minutes” producers, the Times reported. She suggested pursuing an interview with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

Weiss also reportedly instructed producers to obtain more information about the criminal history of the deported men.

“We do our viewers the best service by presenting them with the full context they need to assess the story,” she wrote. “In other words, I believe we need to do more reporting here.”

Sharyn Alfonsi, the reporter who created the segment, accused Weiss of “corporate censorship,” according to a leaked email to colleagues. She explained that she had attempted to obtain a comment from the Trump administration for the segment but was unsuccessful, noting that this was one of the reasons Weiss had stopped it from running.

RELATED: Woke ’60 Minutes’ host Scott Pelley claims diversity is now ‘illegal’ in progressive rant at Wake Forest commencement

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In her original report, she claimed that the Department of Homeland Security declined an interview request. However, the White House reportedly responded on Thursday.

“’60 Minutes’ should spend their time and energy amplifying the stories of Angel Parents, whose innocent American children have tragically been murdered by vicious illegal aliens that President Trump are [sic] removing from the country,” the White House spokesperson stated.

While the segment did not air in the U.S., it was broadcast in Canada because it was not pulled in time, the Times reported.

The White House’s statement did not appear in the original report.

“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” Alfonsi wrote Monday, according to Fox News Digital. “It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”

“If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient,” Alfonsi added.

Journalist Michael Shellenberger criticized Alfonsi for having a history of “biased and inaccurate reporting.”

RELATED: ’60 Minutes’ finally responds to criticism for hit piece on Florida Gov. DeSantis: ‘Some viewers … applauded the story’

Sharyn Alfonsi. Photo by Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Texas Conference for Women

Shellenberger stated that in April 2021, Alfonsi worked on a “60 Minutes” episode that falsely accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) of exclusively choosing Publix, a supermarket chain, to distribute COVID-19 vaccines because the company had donated to his political campaign.

He explained that Alfonsi made these false claims despite Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat, repeatedly refuting the accusations.

After the episode aired, Moskowitz wrote in a post on X, then-Twitter, “@60Minutes I said this before and I’ll say it again. @Publix was recommended by [the Florida Division of Emergency Management] and [the Florida Department of Health] as the other pharmacies were not ready to start. Period! Full Stop! No one from the Governor’s office suggested Publix. It’s just absolute malarkey.”

Shellenberger noted that “three major liberal or left-wing fact-checking organizations” criticized the inaccuracy of the DeSantis segment.

He argued that Alfonsi has failed to present any evidence of “corporate censorship” concerning Weiss’ decision to postpone the CECOT segment.

“And an editorial decision is not the same as censorship, particularly since Weiss said she is delaying, not killing, the segment,” he wrote.

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​News, Cbs, Bari weiss, Sharyn alfonsi, Cecot, El salvador, Donald trump, Trump administration, Trump admin, Trump, Cbs news, 60 minutes, Michael shellenberger, Politics 

It’s Christmastime, and you can feel the shift in the air.

Something has changed in the nation’s mood. People smile more easily. Familiar music returns. And — quietly but unmistakably — you can say “Merry Christmas” again without apologizing for it. The president of the United States quotes the Gospel of John when he speaks about Jesus.

Christians need to face a hard truth: The truce was a mistake.

For a few short weeks, Americans remember what this season is actually about. Not a generic winter festival. Not a vague celebration of “light” or “togetherness.” But the birth of Jesus Christ — a real event in history that changed everything.

For centuries, Christians have marked this season to reflect on the incarnation of the Son of God. “Christ is the reason for the season” is not a slogan; it is a confession. God entered history. He took on flesh. He came to save sinners. Christianity is not built on myth or metaphor but on eyewitness testimony to what actually happened.

America is now remembering — haltingly, imperfectly — the central role of Christ in its own history. That recovery follows decades of effort by atheists and secular ideologues to banish Christ from the public square. Unfortunately, Christians largely agreed to the truce that made this possible. They kept their faith private while Marxists were happy to occupy public education.

In the 1960s, American Christians accepted what amounted to a truce. I half-jokingly call it the Madalyn Murray O’Hair deal. The now largely forgotten atheist activist sued to remove prayer and biblical instruction from public schools. Christians acquiesced. Public education, they were told, would be “neutral.” Religion would be kept out. Faith would be private.

Christians kept their side of the deal.

The Marxists did not — because they never agreed to one. They announced their intentions openly. They promised to march through the institutions, and they did. Universities filled with faculty who identify as left or far left and who teach Marxist frameworks as settled truth.

Today, it is easier to find a committed Marxist on campus than a practicing Christian.

For 60 years, Marxist philosophy crept into K-12 education and then saturated higher education. What was once smuggled in under euphemism is now proudly declared. Professors announce their ideology on syllabi and use taxpayer dollars to teach students that America is structurally racist and that “whiteness” is a form of oppression.

There was never neutrality. There was only a vacuum — and Marxism rushed in to fill it.

I saw this emptiness firsthand on my own campus at Arizona State University.

At ASU’s West Valley campus, administrators recently installed a “winter wonderland” display. Not Christmas lights — “winter” lights. Decorations carefully stripped of any reference to Christ. The existential meaninglessness was almost overwhelming.

Lights were strung up to flicker briefly in the darkness before being taken down and discarded. What did it mean? What did it point to beyond itself?

Or, as Hemingway wrote, was it simply nada y pues nada y pues nada — nothing, and then nothing, and then nothing?

This is what happens when you preserve form while evacuating content. Ritual without meaning. Celebration without hope. Light without truth.

Christmas is the opposite of that.

Christmas does not offer a vague lesson about darkness giving way to light. It proclaims that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. It is not a symbolic story to be endlessly reinterpreted but a declaration that Christ was born in history, of a virgin, in fulfillment of prophecy, to redeem a fallen world.

That is why efforts to drain Christmas of its meaning always feel strained. When leftists substitute “winter celebrations” and “seasonal observances,” they do not offer neutrality. They offer emptiness — sometimes dressed up as inclusion, sometimes as bureaucracy, sometimes as pagan revivalism. Light shows without the Logos. Rituals without redemption.

Christians need to face a hard truth: The truce was a mistake.

There is no neutral education. There never has been. Every curriculum conveys values. Every institution forms souls. The only question is whether students will be formed in the light of Christ or in the ideology of those who openly despise Him.

RELATED: The truth about Christmas: Debunking the pagan origin myth once and for all

Photo by: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Christmas exposes the lie of neutrality. It reminds us that history has meaning, that truth entered the world, and that human beings answer to something higher than administrative guidelines or ideological fashion.

So this year, I am not whispering, “Happy Holidays.” I am saying, “Merry Christmas” — to students, to colleagues, to anyone who will hear it.

Parents and students should remember something crucial: Universities answer to you. You are not passive consumers. You set expectations. You decide what kind of formation is acceptable.

When you see your professors, say, “Merry Christmas.” Say it cheerfully. Say it unapologetically. What you are affirming is not sentiment but truth: that Christ came into the world, and no amount of bureaucratic rebranding can erase Him.

The lights will flicker and fade. Christ will not.

Merry Christmas.

​Christians, Christmas, Radical left, Marxists, American left, American christians, Opinion & analysis, Atheists, Madalyn murray o’hair, Lawsuits, First amendment, Faith, Public square, Prayer in school, Arizona state university, Neutral 

Members of the Bethany Lutheran Church in Ashtabula, Ohio, said they were speechless to find that someone had vandalized their Nativity scene ahead of Christmas.

The near life-size display was found scattered on the ground, and a church worker initially believed the wind had blown it down. However, they discovered evidence that it was intentionally vandalized.

‘All I know for sure is we need to pray for the person or persons who did that because God wants us to pray for their soul, and it’s going to be hard to do that, but that’s what we have to do.’

“You could see the tire tracks coming in from the north, and we are 50 feet off the road,” said Bob Oxley, who has put up the display for five years. “They came through one time, wiped it out, came through a second time, wiped it out again.”

He said there were three sets of tire tracks going through the location of the display, and on the third pass, the vandals destroyed the lighting that was set up.

“Life-sized characters. You could see they are driven in the ground with conduit to hold up to the wind. They came down, they went down through the whole length of it, and it’s probably 10, 20, 30, 40 feet long,” he added.

Church board member Jackie Featsent said she has worshipped at the church for most of her life and cannot understand what would motivate the vandalism.

“It’s just so sad that somebody would have such hate for something that is supposed to bring joy. Why would somebody have such hate to do something like that? I don’t understand, I can’t understand that,” said Featsent.

Oxley estimated that the damages added up to about $1,500 and said the display was unrepairable.

RELATED: Church displays political Nativity scene with Jesus in zip ties and centurions as ICE agents

“The last couple of years, it just seemed so much bigger and nicer,” Featsent added. “Bob had it spread out, added some extra lighting. You could see it from the main drag another block over, but you could see it from there. It just stood out.”

The church filed a police report, and church members hope cameras will help catch the culprits responsible.

“All I know for sure is we need to pray for the person or persons who did that because God wants us to pray for their soul. And it’s going to be hard to do that, but that’s what we have to do,” Featsent added.

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​War against christmas, Anti-christian vandalism, Nativity scene, Ashtabula church, Politics 

Having identified a problem they created, Democrats are now blaming “affordability” on Republicans. It is a striking display of audacity — the very definition of chutzpah.

For more than a year, Democrats have struggled to find a message that resonates because they keep recycling losing ones. They have lashed out at immigration enforcement —storming ICE facilities, attacking ICE officers, and defending violent illegal aliens.

Democrats are now left with a single strategy: campaigning on the consequences of their own incompetence and hoping voters forget who caused them.

They voted for the largest tax increase in U.S. history by opposing the extension of the 2017 tax rates under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

They continue to cling to climate alarmism even as the rest of the world moves on.

They remain soft on crime, opposing President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in cities where criminals run rampant and law-abiding citizens live in fear.

And in a final act of desperation, they triggered the longest federal government shutdown in history — before caving and achieving nothing.

Same issues. Same failure to connect.

The results speak for themselves. Democrats’ favorability sits at an abysmal 32.5%, well below Republicans’ 38.2% and far below President Trump’s 43.8%.

Then came Zohran Mamdani, the neophyte New York Democratic Socialist who toppled Democrats’ old guard in consecutive elections — first Mayor Eric Adams, then former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani did what Democrats have always done: promise voters lots of free stuff. Only he did it on a far grander scale — buses, housing, child care, grocery stores.

Faced with his success, Democrats opted for the familiar response: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. They sanitized Mamdani’s socialism, rebranded it as “affordability,” and declared it their new cause.

That affordability is now Democrats’ issue should surprise no one. After all, they caused the crisis they now loudly lament.

Start with New York City, where affordability has collapsed most dramatically. According to Visual Capitalist’s ranking of America’s least affordable cities, Manhattan is No. 1, Brooklyn ranks sixth, and Queens seventh. In fact, the top 10 least affordable cities are overwhelmingly governed by Democrats and located in Democrat-dominated states: New York, Hawaii, California, and Massachusetts. By contrast, nine of the 10 most affordable cities are in Republican-dominated states.

The reasons are no mystery. They are the left’s preferred policies: high taxes that drive up the cost of living and chase out taxpayers; rent control that discourages new construction and fuels homelessness; and excessive regulation and litigation that inflate the cost of everything they touch.

The same pattern holds at the state level. U.S. News and World Report lists the 10 least affordable states, and the top six are California, New Jersey, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Washington, and New York. Nine of the 10 are blue states. Florida — the lone red-state exception — also boasts the No. 1 economy, ranks second in education, levies no state income tax, and continues to attract new residents in large numbers. Meanwhile, all 10 of the most affordable states are Republican-led.

RELATED: The socialist spell: Why modern minds keep falling for an old lie

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

What about inflation? Isn’t that a national problem?

Yes, but inflation didn’t materialize out of thin air. It began under the Biden administration, reaching a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022. CPI-U inflation was just 1.4% when Biden took office in January 2021. By March, it had nearly doubled. By June, it had surged to 5.4%. By December, it hit 7%. A year later, it still stood at 6.5%. Inflation did not fall below 3% until July 2024 — the 43rd month of Biden’s presidency.

Excessive Democrat spending fueled this surge. From fiscal years 2021 through 2024, the Congressional Budget Office shows cumulative deficits of $8.9 trillion, driven by roughly $8 trillion in spending above the pre-pandemic baseline. The only reason Democrats didn’t spend more is that members of their own party balked.

Inflation works like weight gain: it comes on fast and comes off slowly. Even when the rate of inflation declines, prices remain higher. There is no economic Ozempic. Americans are still paying the price for four years of Democratic fiscal gluttony.

None of this has stopped Democrats from claiming “affordability” as their issue — or from demanding more of the same policies that caused the crisis in the first place: higher spending, higher taxes, and more regulation.

Stripped of winning ideas, Democrats are now left with a single strategy: campaigning on the consequences of their own incompetence and hoping voters forget who caused them.

​Affordability, Affordability crisis, 2026 midterms, Inflation, Housing prices, Opinion & analysis, Government shutdown, Taxes, Cost of living, Economy, The democrats 

One of the White House’s longest and most anticipated traditions is the Christmas tree decorations unveiled every year by the first lady.

Although administrations had already been decorating the White House for Christmas for decades, back in 1961, then-first lady Jackie Kennedy became the first to decorate in accordance with a theme.

Since then, Americans across the country have been able to enjoy countless Christmas displays at the People’s House, no matter their party affiliation. No doubt, some decorations have been more controversial than others, but most have provided unique and festive insights into the personal taste of each first lady.

That said, here are the five best Christmas instillations in recent White House history.

5. 2011, Michelle Obama: ‘Shine, Give, Share’

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

First lady Michelle Obama’s 2011 Christmas display featured warm Christmas lights, garlands, and ornaments reminiscent of the best the 1980s had to offer.

Obama’s theme balanced familiarity and festivity, even featuring a decorative recreation of their dog, Bo.

But the real showstopper was a commemorative Christmas tree honoring the brave men and women of the military whose service allows millions of Americans across the country to enjoy the holiday peacefully at home.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

On the tree hung framed medals awarded to America’s finest military members, with the blue star families fittingly being honored in the White House’s Blue Room. The tree was also adorned with handmade holiday cards written by children from military families.

4. 1983, Nancy Reagan: ‘Old-Fashioned Toys’

Bettmann/Getty Images

First lady Nancy Reagan’s Christmas decorations were unpretentious and relatable. The Christmas tree above features an eclectic mix of garlands, tinsel, and playful ornaments that suited the 1983 theme “Old-Fashioned Toys.”

The tree seemed to celebrate the excitement of Christmas as seen through the eyes of a child, anxiously waking up early to unwrap gifts after noticing that Santa finished his plate of cookies. The tree was not particularly glamorous or high fashion, but rather comforting and familiar. It felt like going home for the holidays.

To top it all off, Reagan’s display featured a surprise celebrity appearance.

Bettmann/Getty Images

While Reagan unveiled the Christmas decor, she also appeared alongside Mr. T dressed up as Santa Claus.

3. 1967, Lady Bird Johnson

Bettmann/Getty Images

First lady Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson integrated every nostalgic Christmas motif imaginable in her Christmas decorations.

The tree itself had garlands made of popcorn and cranberry, sugar-cookie ornaments and candy canes hung on branches, as well as classic silver bobbles and felt decorations. The tree looked as if it had been decorated entirely by ornaments and embellishments children made at school to proudly hang on the tree in their family living room.

Johnson’s decorations also included a beautiful 18th-century Italian Nativity scene complete with floating angels.

Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

The Nativity scene was presented to the White House as a Christmas gift by an American philanthropist and art collector named Jane Engelhard, who also made major donations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

2. 2006, Laura Bush: ‘Deck the Halls and Welcome All’

Photo by Chuck Kennedy/MCT/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

First lady Laura Bush included all of the classic elements that make Christmas festive, but she also added a unique, whimsical detail.

Bush’s trees featured faux snow caps on the branches that made them appear as though they had just been plucked out of a Christmas Claymation movie. The trees were also adorned with cascading silver tinsel and garlands, sparkling snowflakes, and glass ornaments tied with red bows.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Similar trees were found throughout the halls of the White House beside bold garlands of red and silver ornaments consistent with the tree’s color palette.

1. 2025, Melania Trump: ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is’

Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

First lady Melania Trump’s taste in Christmas decorations has been consistently exquisite, and 2025 is no exception.

Most will remember Trump’s iconic display featuring a hallway of bold, red Christmas trees or stark, white branches from her husband’s first term. Although her decorations made a splash both of those years, 2025 is arguably her most stunning display yet.

Dozens of trees are illuminated by twinkling lights and floating candles with dashes of red and gold ribbon running between the branches. Matching red presents are laid at the base of the trees as well as countless wreaths on every window of the White House.

Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

Trump also featured several playful elements throughout the White House, including a Lego portrait of President George Washington, President Donald Trump, and matching Lego bows on the wreaths above them.

In a touching tribute, one tree displayed in the Red Room is decorated with tens of thousands of blue butterflies to commemorate the hundreds of thousands of foster children across the country, one of her signature causes.

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​Christmas, White house, White house christmas decorations, Christmas decorations, Jackie kennedy, Michelle obama, Jfk, Barack obama, Bo, Blue star families, Military, Nancy reagan, Ronald reagan, Kennedy administration, Reagan administration, Obama administration, Mr. t, Santa claus, Lyndon johnson, Lady bird johnson, Nativity set, Johnson administration, Laura bush, George w bush, Bush administration, Melania trump, Donald trump, Trump administration, Politics 

An Ohio family says that authorities did little to protect their 12-year-old son after they reported online harassment that included a death threat plot.

The messages were allegedly made by other students from Madison Local Schools in Butler County, according to the victim’s aunt, Courtney Sorrell.

‘We didn’t want this to blow up, but we want the kids to know you can’t make these threats and bully someone or say these things and not be held accountable.’

Sorrell said the harassment began after a breakup, which led to the girl group targeting her nephew.

“Her and her friends were targeting my nephew individually at first,” Sorrell said to WKRC-TV. “Just calling, texting, FaceTiming, and harassing him to the point he would block one person’s number, and then they would reach out from another number. They would say disgusting things like how he’s hated and he needs to just go kill himself.”

The girls allegedly added him to a group chat where they discussed their alleged plan to kill him. Some of the messages were included in a Butler County Sheriff’s Office report.

“Can we kill him,” one message read.

Another read, “Yas we will kill him tomorrow,” and, “Who has weapons that we can bring to school.”

Others said they could bring a pocketknife, baseball bats, and a gun.

Screenshots of the group chat showed 13 participants.

The kids who participated in the chat were suspended for 10 days, but the family is upset that the district didn’t appear to take the threat seriously. Sorrell said the family went to the media because they felt the district wasn’t doing enough.

In response, the school district released a statement.

“We are aware of social media posts regarding a potential threat toward Madison today,” the statement reads. “The district is actively addressing the situation and has taken appropriate steps to ensure the safety of our students and employees. We appreciate your cooperation and support as we prioritize the well-being of our school community.”

RELATED: ‘Just end him’: 5th-grade girls allegedly plotted to stab boy to death at school and make it look like a suicide

Sorrell says the family wants greater accountability at the district and far more transparency. They also want the children who made the threats to face more stringent punishments.

“Why don’t you call the cops? Why don’t you go to the school? Well, we tried that at the beginning,” Sorrell continued.

“We didn’t want to come to social media,” she added. “We didn’t want this to blow up, but we want the kids to know you can’t make these threats and bully someone or say these things and not be held accountable.”

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The Great Replacement theory is a conjecture popularized by French writer Renaud Camus in his 2011 book, “Le Grand Remplacement,” claiming that globalist elites are deliberately orchestrating mass immigration of non-white people into Western countries to demographically replace and ultimately disempower or even eradicate white European populations.

It’s often branded as a far-right conspiracy theory, but just look at the evidence:

Mass illegal immigration is orchestrated or deliberately enabled under progressive administrations, despite polls indicating that most citizens want less immigration. Skyrocketing housing costs, student debt, stagnant wages, and taxes make it nearly impossible for young white/middle-class natives to afford children, while many immigrant households (legal and illegal) get access to welfare, EITC, child tax credits, Medicaid, and housing aid that effectively subsidize higher fertility or larger families.Politicians, corporate media, and advertising openly celebrate that the country is becoming “majority-minority,” cheering it as a moral and cultural improvement.Anyone who complains about the speed or scale of immigration (even mildly) gets instantly branded “racist,” “white supremacist,” or “xenophobic,” faces censorship, bans, and job cancellation, and is shut out of respectable discourse.

So it’s not just a theory. It’s a scheme that’s very much in action right now.

“Demographic replacement of the American stock is the plan in order to manipulate elections in the democracy,” says Auron MacIntyre, BlazeTV host of “The Auron MacIntyre Show.”

He plays a clip from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller telling Sean Hannity the same thing.

“The Biden administration, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, devised a scheme to fly illegal aliens into the country and then to escort them en masse across the border by the millions and to give them something known as parole, which gives them a work permit, which gives them a Social Security number, which gives them access to the voting booth,” Miller declared. “This was the plan all along.”

To its core, the plan is deeply undemocratic, MacIntyre explains. “The whole idea of the democracy is that it represents the beliefs and will of the people and that the popular sovereignty is supposed to guide the politicians,” he says.

“So if instead of the popular sovereignty guiding the politicians, the politicians [via immigration] can create and manufacture popular sovereignty in their favor, then they can control the entire system.”

And that’s exactly what the Democrat Party wants, he says — to secure all future elections by turning the nation into a blue blob of welfare-dependents who will reliably vote Democrat to keep their benefits.

“[The Great Replacement theory] is not a conspiracy theory. This is not some weird internet idea. This is the plan of the Democratic Party. This is what they want. This is their political strategy,” MacIntyre reiterates.

The masses of immigrants from Afghanistan, Somalia, and Venezuela — they’re “here for a reason,” he insists. “They’re here to replace you.”

“You address this, or the country drowns.”

To hear Auron’s in-depth breakdown of the Great Replacement theory, watch the video above.

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A Delaware state trooper was killed in a shooting Tuesday at a DMV facility in New Castle County, according to police.

Law enforcement officials responded to an active shooter situation at the facility in Minquadale on Hessler Boulevard at about 2 p.m.

‘They said a guy just walked up to the motor vehicle and just started shooting. It don’t have to be like that.’

“Law enforcement acted swiftly to secure the scene, and the shooter has been confirmed deceased,” Gov. Matt Meyer (D) wrote on social media. “State and local law enforcement are on the scene and coordinating response efforts. Please avoid the area and follow guidance from authorities.”

He added that there was no active threat to the public.

Video from inside the facility showed what appeared to be bullet damage in a window, but it was unclear whether the gunfire came from within or from outside.

“It’s just really sad. Like, when does it stop?” said Roxzanne Johnson to WPVI-TV. “They said a guy just walked up to the motor vehicle and just started shooting. It don’t have to be like that.”

Others at the scene were treated for minor injuries, including a 40-year-old woman as well as a 35-year-old for shortness of breath.

RELATED: Bodycam video shows Buffalo cop shoot and kill man as he dragged him on the side of his car

WPVI also reported that the facility might have had an officer stationed at the scene before the shooting.

Officials told the public to stay away from the scene as the investigation continued.

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The iconic voice that sings the song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” from the animated special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” ensured the tune has stayed a classic for ages — but the man behind the voice was never given credit.

“They needed somebody that could bring the Grinch, somebody who had a scowl that could match the Grinch. And that’s when the guy who was never named comes into the picture and walks into the studio,” Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck explains.

“And somewhere in a Los Angeles recording booth late at night, I think 1966, he steps up into a booth, up to a microphone, and his voice is so deep, it’s almost as if it rolled out of the earth itself,” he continues.

“He steps up to the microphone, and he records the now really super famous anthem in ‘The Grinch,’” he adds.

The song may only be six verses, but while he recorded the song, the crew and those who worked on it said that “they knew that that performance would outlive all of them.”

“They put it in the show. The show airs. Credits roll. His name’s not on it. Not a mention, not a whisper,” Glenn says.

While he was never officially given credit, the man who delivered what Glenn calls “one of the most unforgettable performances in Christmas history” was named Thurl Ravenscroft.

“His name is nowhere to be found, but it should be. And it should be remembered, because he’s great,” Glenn adds.

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A case involving an alleged career criminal threatening to kill elementary school students in Austin has prompted Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to take decisive actions against “progressive DAs.”

Abbott cited claims from the Austin Justice watchdog group that Michael Nnaji had been arrested over 34 cases since 2019 but was released or had charges reduced by lenient prosecutors.

‘Those DAs must be held accountable and prosecutorial power must be shifted to actual prosecutors.’

Nnaji allegedly “banged on the locked glass doors” of Padrón Elementary School in Austin in Oct. 2024 and screamed “I’m going to go inside and kill, I’m gonna find a way to get in.”

The man skipped court after being released on bond, according to Austin Justice, and had charges dropped over a Dec. 5 trespass at a gas station while he was fleeing justice over the school threat charges.

Abbott wrote on social media Monday that he would push legislation to reel in progressive district attorneys.

“I am calling for legislation that creates a Chief State Prosecutor to actually prosecute criminals like this that DAs in places like Austin refuse to prosecute,” he wrote.

“Progressive DAs are literally leading to the murder of Texans,” Abbott added. “Those DAs must be held accountable and prosecutorial power must be shifted to actual prosecutors.”

RELATED: Soros-backed LA district attorney under fire over lax sentence in hit-and-run of mom and baby

Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk backed the proposal in a statement on social media.

“This is a great idea! I initially read this as ‘let’s prosecute DAs that refuse to prosecute,’ which is also a good idea,” he posted, adding a laughing emoji.

Prosecutorial discretion under current Texas law lies with local prosecutors who are elected by the voters.

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Over the past 11 months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies have worked to put away numerous murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, drug traffickers, and terrorists.

The Department of Homeland Security listed over a dozen of the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens who were arrested by federal law enforcement agents in 2025 in a press release exclusively obtained by Blaze News.

The department stated that 70% of ICE’s arrests were illegal aliens who were either convicted of or charged with a crime in the United States.

‘Americans can be proud of DHS law enforcement who worked around the clock this year to remove the worst of the worst from American neighborhoods.’

The DHS year-end roundup highlighted ICE New Orleans’ arrest of Olvin Rodriguez-Inestroza, a Honduran national with active warrants for 394 counts of pornography involving juveniles and two counts of sexual abuse of an animal.

In July, the then-22-year-old pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography after investigators found hundreds of disturbing photos and videos on his phone, including some involving toddlers.

RELATED: ICE’s Christmas crackdown: Gang members, pedophiles, and an attempted murderer are now off the streets

Olvin Rodriguez-Inestroza. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal agents also arrested Diego Barron-Esquivel, a Mexican national who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for violently assaulting and strangling an ICE officer in February in Wichita, Kansas. Barron-Esquivel was accused of consistently harassing his former spouse, and he was previously arrested on multiple counts of domestic battery, protection order violations, aggravated robbery, felony theft, and other offenses.

Diego Barron-Esquivel. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Jaan Shah Safi, an Afghan national, entered the country under former President Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome” in 2021. He was previously arrested for allegedly providing support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan, also referred to as ISIS-K. According to the DHS, Safi provided weapons to his father, who is a commander of an Afghan militia group. The DHS announced in early December that ICE agents arrested Safi in Waynesboro, Virginia, after his Temporary Protected Status application was terminated.

Jaan Shah Safi. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE captured Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, an MS-13 gang member from Honduras who is believed to have illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 after he allegedly bribed his way out of jail in his home country. He is wanted in Honduras for a quadruple homicide and is an alleged member of an assassination squad. Federal immigration agents caught up to Cuadra Soto in Grand Island, Nebraska, on December 8.

Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Jose Alfredo Uzeta, a Mexican national, was accused of performing dental procedures without a license. He was convicted of dentistry act violation and indecent assault in Harris County, Texas.

Jose Alfredo Uzeta. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa, from Mexico, was accused of running a sex trafficking operation in Miami, Florida, with his family. ICE Los Angeles arrested Cadena-Sosa in San Pedro, California, in December. According to the Department of Justice, he and his family approached females, some as young as 14, in Mexico to lure them into the U.S. under false promises of work opportunities. Once in the U.S., they allegedly imposed a smuggling debt and used threats and violence to force the females into engaging in prostitution 12 hours a day, six days a week.

Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE agents also rounded up Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla, from El Salvador, who is a confirmed gang member of the 18th Street Gang, which is designated a foreign terrorist organization. He is wanted in his home country for aggravated homicide, extortion, drug possession, and other felonies. Federal agents nabbed Lazo-Quintanilla in March.

Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez, from El Salvador, was convicted of sexual assault of a child under 17 years old. His criminal history also includes multiple DUIs, child fondling, and illegal re-entering of the U.S. During his November arrest, the convicted pedophile allegedly assaulted an ICE officer with a metal coffee cup, resulting in a laceration that required 13 stitches.

Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE agents arrested Thao Van Cao, a Vietnamese national who is a member of the Asian Cheap Boy criminal gang. His lengthy rap sheet includes 25 convictions for crimes such as flight to avoid prosecution, possession of a controlled substance, second-degree robbery, cruelty toward the elderly, arson, and theft.

Thao Van Cao. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Aldrin Guerrero-Munoz was picked up by federal immigration agents in October. The criminal illegal alien was previously sentenced to 32 years in prison for the intentional murder of his 3-month-old son.

Aldrin Guerrero-Munoz. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

ICE apprehended Jung Choi, a 53-year-old from South Korea. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter after she and her male companion were accused of murdering his wife.

Jung Choi. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Jonatan Monzon-Olivares, a Guatemalan national, was taken off the street in August. He had been arrested 38 times with 15 convictions for crimes including sexual assault, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, possession of stolen property, and obstructing justice.

Jonatan Monzon-Olivares. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Federal agents nabbed Alejandro Lima-Ramirez, who was previously arrested two dozen times in California and Oregon. He has 16 convictions, including for drug trafficking, robbery, fraud, and carrying a concealed weapon.

Alejandro Lima-Ramirez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

In August, ICE agents apprehended Michael Kabiona, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty in 2015 of repeatedly raping his stepdaughter, starting when she was 9 years old.

Michael Kabiona. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Pedro Luis Ortiz-Mendez and Jose Vicente Ortiz-Mendez, brothers from Mexico, were also arrested by federal immigration agents in August. The two men are wanted in their home country for multiple murders.

Pedro Luis Ortiz-Mendez and Jose Vicente Ortiz-Mendez. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

Lastly, the DHS highlighted this year’s arrest of Yehia Elham Badawi, an Egyptian national with a lengthy criminal record, including robbery, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment, among other violent felonies. His convictions stem from a 1994 shoot-out that seriously injured a Philadelphia police officer.

RELATED: Illegal alien truck driver walks out of jail after allegedly killing American — and sanctuary policies appear to be to blame

Yehia Elham Badawi. Image source: Department of Homeland Security

“Americans can be proud of DHS law enforcement who worked around the clock this year to remove the worst of the worst from American neighborhoods. Our law enforcement has put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

McLaughlin stated that under the leadership of President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, “criminals are not welcome in the U.S. If you come to our country and break our laws, we will find you, arrest you, and deport you.”

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Women’s sports, children’s innocence, and biological reality are at the center of America’s cultural struggle — but Riley Gaines tells BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey at AmFest that the tide is finally turning.

However, it took some serious struggle on Gaines’ part before she began to see a change.

“It was really hard to read some of the things that are being said about you. I mean, bear in mind, I’m a 21-year-old college student who merely just wanted to compete fairly, right? Seems like the bare minimum,” Gaines recalls.

“For saying the things that I said, such as ‘there are two sexes’ and ‘you can’t change your sex’ and ‘each sex is deserving of equal opportunity of privacy and of safety’ — for saying that, you’re vilified,” she explains.

While at the time, Gaines was hurt by the negative response, which included being called names like “racist” and “misogynist,” it’s now “water off the duck’s back.”

“I put all of the confidence and the security that I have in the fact that I’m fighting for the hope and the promise of eternal life. And once you do that, it shifts your perspective to understand that nothing of this world matters,” Gaines says.

Because of the courage of women like Gaines, Stuckey feels that the “tide is turning in a really good way when it comes to female sports.”

“You’re really in the thick of it,” Stuckey says. “Like, you see the activist attacks. You’re seeing what’s really going on on college campuses. Do you feel like the tide is turning?”

“110%,” Gaines answers. “You compare now to even a year ago, it’s very different. I think we’re seeing more people with the willingness and the boldness to say that men can’t become women. Men can’t get pregnant. Women don’t need prostate exams. Tampons don’t belong in boys’ bathrooms.”

“Obviously, it sounds pretty cliche, but I do believe courage begets courage. And so when you have people like yourself, or you have President Trump in the Oval Office, that gives the people a lot of cover, right?” she continues.

“They see him doing it or you doing it, and they think, I can do that,” she adds.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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A Florida woman found herself in handcuffs in what was supposed to be a fun family vacation at a luxury resort after she became physical with a 6-year-old boy at a pool, according to police.

The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that deputies responded to a report of a battery involving a child around 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Gaylord Palms Hotel — a four-star resort in Kissimmee.

“Witnesses reported that three children were playing in the pool when the splashing became aggressive,” the statement reads.

Police said 36-year-old Tiffany Lee Griffith of Fort Myers “entered the pool and yelled at a 6-year-old boy after he allegedly dunked her 6-year-old son underwater.”

The sheriff’s office claimed Griffith “placed her hands on the victim’s shoulders and forcibly dunked him underwater for several seconds.”

The alleged victim rushed out of the resort pool “visibly upset and suffering from a nosebleed.” The child reported the alleged incident to his parents, according to police.

Griffith then began yelling at the mother of the alleged victim before leaving the area, police said. Deputies located and arrested Griffith.

RELATED: Florida woman couldn’t take her dog on flight — so she drowned animal in airport bathroom: Police

The Osceola News-Gazette obtained the police report which stated, “After Tiffany was placed under arrest, she made spontaneous statements expressing remorse for what had occurred.”

The police report added, “It should also be noted that alcohol was believed to be a possible factor in this incident, according to hotel security.”

During her arrest, Griffith allegedly “understood and agreed to her [Miranda] rights. … She further stated she could recite them due to being a former law enforcement officer.”

Griffith was taken to the Osceola County Jail, and she was charged with aggravated child abuse.

According to the affidavit obtained by People magazine, Griffith told investigators she entered the pool to protect her child; she claimed he’s nonverbal and has autism.

“I was protecting my son,” Griffith told deputies, according to the affidavit.

Griffith told police she feared her son would be “drowned” by the other child, the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, investigators said they reviewed security footage at the resort, and it matched a witness’ account of the incident.

During Griffith’s first court appearance Monday, a judge found probable cause and ordered her held without bond, according to WINK-TV. The judge also ordered Griffith to have no contact with the child or the child’s family.

The Gaylord Palms Hotel did not immediately respond to Blaze News‘ request for comment.

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday against the Trump administration asking to allow the president to order National Guard troops to Chicago, Illinois.

Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch publicly dissented from the opinion, which passed 6 to 3.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump-appointed Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joined the majority. Kavanaugh wrote a separate concurring opinion.

‘The government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois.’

The Trump administration argued that it had the authority to order troops into Chicago in order to protect federal agents performing deportation operations. The government was asking for a stay against an order blocking the troops from U.S. District Judge April Perry in October.

“At this preliminary stage, the government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the majority order reads.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote that federal officers were “forced to operate under the constant threat of mob violence” and cited incidents where they were threatened and assaulted.

Much of the protests and violence has been directed against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview.

“Finally a ruling from this Supreme Court that makes clear what all patriotic Americans know: No Kings,” wrote Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.

RELATED: DHS has a message for ‘cowards’ threatening ICE on social media — influencer laughs in response

Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker previously criticized the administration over the troop order.

“Donald Trump will keep trying to invade Illinois with troops — and we will keep defending the sovereignty of our state,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Militarizing our communities against their will is not only un-American but also leads us down a dangerous path for our democracy. What will come next?”

Other critics of National Guard orders from the White House accuse the president of trying to militarize the streets in order to intimidate his political opponents.

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Hunter Biden criticized his father, former President Joe Biden, and his administration for the botched withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and he detailed his thoughts on the country’s immigration problem.

During an interview on the “Shawn Ryan Show” released Monday, Hunter Biden stated that he believes politicians on both sides of the aisle want to find a solution to immigration.

‘I think there was a better way to do it.’

Podcast host Shawn Ryan and Hunter Biden discussed how foreign nationals have been receiving abundant resources on the American taxpayer’s dime, including free hotel rooms.

“We need immigration. We need a vibrant immigration, but we don’t want immigrants that are coming here illegally, draining us of resources,” Biden told Ryan.

Ryan expressed concerns that more resources are being allocated to foreign nationals, while American veterans continue to struggle to obtain the necessary support.

Hunter Biden stated that he does not want immigrants prioritized over U.S. troops or other Americans.

RELATED: ‘I’m going to get myself in trouble’: Hunter Biden urges Democrats to race to ‘the bottom faster’ after Kirk’s assassination

Hunter Biden. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

During the five-hour conversation, Ryan asked Biden about some of his father’s failures as president. Biden responded by mentioning the botched exit from Afghanistan, during which a suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. service members.

Biden stated that he believes it was necessary to leave Afghanistan but criticized the execution of the withdrawal.

“I think one of the failures was the way in which they executed the withdrawal from Afghanistan. I think it was an obvious f**king failure. I think 13 Marines are dead. I think that there was a better way to do it,” Hunter Biden said.

“And I can blame it on his generals. I can blame it on the people, the way in which we did it. But my dad always knew this also, is that the buck stops with him,” he continued. “I think that that was a failure.”

RELATED: DC National Guard shooting suspect is Afghan national who entered US under Biden withdrawal program: Report

Joe Biden, Hunter Biden. Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Ryan asked Biden how his father feels about the withdrawal now.

“The same way that I do,” he replied.

“I don’t want to speak for my dad, but I know my dad, you know, is crushed by that,” Hunter Biden added, referring to the service members who lost their lives.

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Democrat policies proudly championed in California by Gov. Gavin Newsom have for years kept parents in the dark about their children’s mental health and personal circumstances — particularly about whether their kids are masquerading as members of the opposite sex at school and undergoing a so-called “social transition” with the help of school staff.

Unwilling to lie to parents in violation of their faith and ethics, and facing the prospect of retaliation or dismissal over their dissent, Christian educators Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori West filed a lawsuit in 2023 with the help of the religious liberty group the Thomas More Society.

By October, their legal challenge targeting secretive, grooming transgender policies across the state had evolved into a class-action lawsuit involving other adversely impacted teachers as well as parents.

U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez delivered Democrat officials and other gender ideologues a big upset on Monday, ruling in favor of the plaintiffs and against the grooming regime.

Benitez noted at the outset of his 52-page ruling that long before the advent of compulsory education in the U.S., “parents have carried out their rights and responsibility to direct the general and medical care and religious upbringing of their child.”

“It is a right and a responsibility that parents still hold,” said the judge.

Benitez affirmed that “parents have a right to receive gender information and teachers have a right to provide to parents accurate information about a child’s gender identity” — rights that Benitez confirmed have been violated by California officials.

RELATED: ‘Not medicine — it’s malpractice’: Trump HHS buries child sex-change regime with damning report

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Image

According to Benitez, “the parental exclusion policies create a trifecta of harm.” For starters,

they harm the child who needs parental guidance and possibly mental health intervention to determine if the incongruence is organic or whether it is the result of bullying, peer pressure, or a fleeting impulse. They harm the parents by depriving them of the long-recognized Fourteenth Amendment right to care, guide, and make healthcare decisions for their children, and by substantially burdening many parents’ First Amendment right to train their children in their sincerely held religious beliefs. And finally, they harm teachers who are compelled to violate the [sic] sincerely held beliefs and the parent’s rights by forcing them to conceal information they feel is critical for the welfare of their students.

Benitez barred California Attorney General Rob Bonta, California Superintendent Tony Thurmond, and members of the California Board of Education from implementing or enforcing laws or policies in such a manner as to permit or require any employee in the state education system to:

mislead the parent or guardian of a minor student “about their child’s gender presentation at school” by way of direct lies, denial of access to educational records, or “using a different set of preferred pronouns/names when speaking with the parents than is being used at school”;”use a name or pronoun to refer to that child that do not match the child’s legal name and natal pronouns, where a child’s parent or legal guardian has communicated their objection to such use”; anduse incorrect pronouns or a false name in reference to a student “while concealing that social gender transition from the child’s parents.”

The judge also ordered state education officials to prominently feature the following statement in their LGBT “cultural competency” training materials:

Parents and guardians have a federal constitutional right to be informed if their public school student child expresses gender incongruence. Teachers and school staff have a federal constitutional right to accurately inform the parent or guardian of their student when the student expresses gender incongruence. These federal constitutional rights are superior to any state or local laws, state or local regulations, or state or local policies to the contrary.

“Today’s incredible victory finally, and permanently, ends California’s dangerous and unconstitutional regime of gender secrecy policies in schools,” Paul Jonna, special counsel at the Thomas More Society, said in a statement.

“The court’s comprehensive ruling — granting summary judgment on all claims — protects all California parents, students, and teachers, and it restores sanity and common sense,” continued Jonna. “With this decisive ruling from Judge Benitez, all state and local school officials that mandate gender secrecy policies should cease all enforcement or face severe legal consequences.”

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Three males — ages 8, 11, 12 — were arrested Saturday after stealing a car, leading cops on a chase, and crashing into a home, police in Newburgh Heights, Ohio, told Blaze News. Newburgh Heights is about 12 minutes southeast of Cleveland.

Police said officers received an alert just before 3 p.m. from its Flock Safety license plate readers about a stolen car driving westbound on Harvard Avenue around East 54th Street.

The 11-year-old stated that ‘something just came over his body, and he could not control it, he needed to take the car,’ police said.

A Newburgh Heights officer spotted the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver fled from officers, police said.

The vehicle crashed into a home where three juveniles fled on foot, police said.

RELATED: After HS hallway bump, Florida 15-year-old to be tried as an adult for allegedly shooting 16-year-old dead

Image source: Newburgh Heights (Ohio) Police

Officers quickly apprehended the occupants of the car and discovered that they were ages 8, 11, and 12, police said, adding that officers later determined the 11-year-old was the driver.

Police bodycam video shows the arresting officer drawing his gun on the 8-year-old and the 11-year-old males, who were cowering against a fence, and ordering them on their stomachs. One can be heard whimpering.

RELATED: 11-year-old arrested for alleged ‘kill list’ at Florida school — just 2 weeks after similar incident in same school

Image source: Newburgh Heights (Ohio) Police bodycam video screenshot

Soon the 12-year-old is seen approaching the officer, who orders him on the ground as well.

RELATED: Males — ages 11, 13, and 15 — took video of themselves in car purposely hitting 63-year-old bike rider who was killed: Cops

Image source: Newburgh Heights (Ohio) Police bodycam video screenshot

One of the males can be heard moaning that “I’m going to jail!” and “I’m sorry!”

As other officers arrive, one can be heard saying, “You should’ve thought about that before you got in the car.” He added, “And you suck at driving.” All three were placed in handcuffs.

The 12-year-old — who was wearing a gray hoodie adorned ironically with the words “Essentials: Fear of God” on the back — appeared to giggle and tell another male that “you gotta laugh.”

RELATED: Cops arrest 6 children — ages just 11 to 14 — after 3 armed robberies, 2 crashes on interstate highway

Image source: Newburgh Heights (Ohio) Police bodycam video screenshot

An officer yanked him away from the fence and said, “Real funny, ain’t it.” He replied, “No, ma’am.”

Police said they were seeking the following charges against the 11-year-old driver: failure to comply with order or signal of police officer and receiving stolen property. Police said they were seeking the following charges against the 8-year-old and 12-year-old: obstructing official business and receiving stolen property.

RELATED: 4 more girls — just 11 to 14 years old — arrested for beating woman in DC; all 6 suspects now charged with hate crimes: Cops

According to police, the juveniles stated they went to a store and saw “this car sitting there.” The 11-year-old stated that “something just came over his body, and he could not control it, he needed to take the car,” police said.

The 11-year-old said he and the 12-year-old “knew how to steal a car” from YouTube, police said.

RELATED: Gut-wrenching video shows thugs beating up crying boy, 12, even pulling off his pants; 5 charged — all age 13 or younger

Image source: Newburgh Heights (Ohio) Police

“All three boys stated that they know right from wrong and admitted what they did was wrong,” police said. “While in our custody, they were concerned about how this would affect Santa coming to bring them presents.”

Police added that at one point, one of the juveniles said “he knew because of what they did he was going to get coal for Christmas.”

The juveniles were released to their parents pending the filing of criminal charges in juvenile court, police said.

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​Ohio, Newburgh heights, Stolen car, Police, Bodycam video, Arrests, Children, Boys, Juvenile court, Juveniles, Police chase, Car crash, Crime 

A Pennsylvania woman says she was forced to get food assistance benefits after being fired from her job as a school bus driver over a “racially insensitive” sign.

Diane Crawford, 66, told WHP-TV that she put up the sign because she thought it would help stop bullying on her bus.

‘I don’t know what else to do. I’m on Medicare and Medicaid now and SNAP. … I had to go on antidepressants because of this.’

“Out of respect to English-only students, there will be no speaking Spanish on this bus,” the note read.

Crawford worked for the Juniata County School District as a bus driver for three decades, including the last 12 years when she became a self-employed owner and operator.

She says her supervisor called her over the note and canceled the contract.

“I don’t know what else to do. I’m on Medicare and Medicaid now and SNAP,” Crawford said. “I had to go on antidepressants because of this.”

She also claims that she wasn’t allowed to explain why she wrote the note. It was meant as a warning to a bilingual child who had been riling up students in Spanish, according to Crawford. She suggested the student was bullying her as well as the other students.

“I didn’t know if he was bullying somebody, telling them to do something that they shouldn’t do,” Crawford said. “I thought I heard him saying, ‘Gordo,’ and — I understand some of (the words) — I don’t know who he was talking to, but I assume he is directing at me.”

“Gordo” in Spanish means “fat.”

She has filed a lawsuit asking for $30,000 for the bus and the route she purchased in 2024.

“I would like them to admit that they were wrong,” she added. “I don’t want to be in debt because what they did was wrong.”

On Sunday, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said her office was investigating the incident.

“This is deeply concerning. I have directed ⁦[the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ] to open an investigation into this situation implicating DEI wokeness,” she posted on social media.

RELATED: Activists rage over racist vandalism at a high school. The district says a black student was caught committing the hoax.

The school district and Rohrer Bus Service released a statement to address the incident.

“Following the incident in question, the District and Rohrer jointly reviewed the situation in accordance with established procedures,” the joint statement reads. “The investigation concluded after the subcontractor provided a written admission confirming that the signage had been installed on her bus. At that point, the relevant facts of the situation were fully known and discussed among District and Rohrer leadership.”

They said they determined Crawford had violated the “standards and expectations” for drivers and expressed a commitment to providing a “safe and inclusive transportation environment” for all students.

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​School bus driver fired, Racist school bus sign, Anti-spanish sign, Diane crawford, Politics 

During a local hearing, a Massachusetts mayor requested the use of a translator. Now critics are asking if he can even speak English.

Brian A. DePena (D) is the mayor of Lawrence, Massachusetts, a city of nearly 90,000. Approximately 82% of the residents of Lawrence are Latino, according to a 2023 report by WGBH.

‘I practice my English because it’s very important in America.’

Mayor DePena appeared in court earlier this month for a Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission proceeding, where former Lawrence Police Chief William Castro was facing city officials following the revocation of his credentials. Castro was accused of conducting an improper police chase and falsifying a police report.

According to reports, DePena testified on Castro’s behalf and requested a translator for the hearing.

In video of the hearing that has gone viral, a judge is heard considering the request for a translator for the mayor.

DePena has since been accused of not being able to speak English at all. The WGBH report from 2023 also noted that DePena does not speak English on a day-to-day basis.

RELATED: Noncitizen Kansas mayor accused of voter fraud has cast dozens of ballots since 2000, documents show

“I practice my English because it’s very important in America,” DePena said, according to WGBH. “For many years, another administration speaks perfect English and [didn’t provide] opportunity for better education, for businessmen, for kids, safety [in the] community.”

DePena later added, “It’s not easy, because every day [I] to need to make a decision about another person, the future of another person. … If you supported another candidate, no matter. Everyone is equal in my office.”

Since taking office in 2021, DePena has appeared in many videos speaking only in Spanish, including in official city materials.

RELATED: Postal worker allegedly tried to help detainee escape from ICE — and she was on duty at the time

In March 2023, an official city of Lawrence YouTube video showed DePena speaking only in Spanish for an “important message” about public schools. The video is labeled as bilingual, but this appeared to refer to the English subtitles.

That October, DePena appeared in a Spanish-only interview for local health care company Vitra Health.

Additionally a Facebook video post from August 2025 from the mayor’s official account is also entirely in Spanish.

The accusations come in spite of the Trump administration issuing an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States on March 1, 2025.

Blaze News contacted the mayor’s office and the mayor directly about whether he is fluent in English but received no response.

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​News, Spanish, Massachusetts, Spanish only, Official language, Latino, Mayor, Politics