Critics of the president’s immigration policy went into meltdown mode over a new video from the administration depicting Santa Claus as an ICE agent.

In the video that appears to be generated by artificial intelligence, Santa dons a reddish uniform of Immigration and Customs Enforcement while arresting illegal aliens and sending them on their way on a deportation flight.

‘This is freaking evil. Don’t make Santa the person who removes people from their place of safety.’

“AVOID ICE AIR AND SANTA’S NAUGHTY LIST!” read the message from ICE on the post. “Self-deport today with the CBP Home app, earn $3,000 and spend Christmas at home with loved ones. Holiday incentive is valid through the end of 2025.”

The holiday incentive triples the $1,000 offered previously to illegal aliens who choose to self-deport.

Many online raged against the video and Sec. Kristi Noem of the Department of Homeland Security.

“Nazi trash. Deport yourselves to hell,” replied voice actor Andy Cortez.

“Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security posts deranged video turning Santa into an ICE agent. Making people suffer is just all fun and games for the Trump administration,” responded Mike Sington, a former NBCUniversal executive.

“This is freaking evil. Don’t make Santa the person who removes people from their place of safety. Ever. WTF?” said one critic.

“First off, Santa isn’t even a citizen so why the f**k would he be working with ICE and not give you f**ks coal for eternity? Secondly, you people are f**king ghouls,” replied another detractor.

“As I’ve said many times … Republicans would have nailed Jesus to the cross themselves and handed Trump the spear to stab him with,” responded podcaster Ryan Shead.

RELATED: VIDEO: Sheriff mocks ‘idiots’ who mistook cops for ICE and disrupted operation against alleged drug dealers

“I bet this goes so hard if you are a legitimate sociopath with literally no ability to feel empathy for another human being,” said another critic.

According to an analysis of ICE data by the Guardian, the administration has arrested more than 328,000 and deported nearly 327,000 since the beginning of the new administration. Nearly two million others have voluntarily self-deported, according to a DHS press release.

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​Ice santa claus, Liberal outrage mob, Online backlash, Trump’s immigration policy, Politics 

On the strength of a very positive economic report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, President Trump announced on Truth Social his future plans for the economy — and these plans may not include the current chairman of the Federal Reserve.

On Tuesday morning, Trump introduced and explained “the Trump Rule” when it comes to the economy.

‘Anybody that disagrees with me will never be the Fed Chairman!’

Trump started his post by explaining how markets have changed in response to good financial news, like the news received Tuesday. Rather than rallying as they have in the past, markets go down, he explained, in anticipation of interest rates increasing to offset “potential” inflation.

Trump continued, “That means that, essentially, we can never have a Great Market again, those Markets from the time when our Nation was building up, and becoming great. Strong Markets, even phenomenal Markets, don’t cause Inflation, stupidity does!”

RELATED: Market soars after Fed finally cuts interest rate

Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Trump then hinted at a possible development coming to the Fed leadership: “I want my new Fed Chairman to lower Interest Rates if the Market is doing well, not destroy the Market for no reason whatsoever.”

Trump stated that he will no longer tolerate obstructionists making economic greatness impossible: “A Nation can never be Economically GREAT if ‘eggheads’ are allowed to do everything within their power to destroy the upward slope.”

He added that America will “see numbers that are far more natural, and far better, than they have ever been before.”

“Anybody that disagrees with me will never be the Fed Chairman!” Trump concluded.

The delayed economic report states that “Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025 (July, August, and September), according to the initial estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.8 percent.”

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​Politics, President trump, Donald trump, Federal reserve, Jerome powell, Fed chair, Fed chair jerome powell, The trump rule, Economy, Interest rates, Inflation 

The Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security is changing regulations governing work visas, arguing the changes will protect American workers.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the DHS had implemented a new rule to change the H-1B recipient selection process, ending the current random lottery system in favor of prioritizing those with higher skills.

‘As part of the Trump administration’s commitment to H-1B reform, we will continue to demand more from both employers and aliens so as not to undercut American workers and to put America first.’

The agency contended that the new policy would “better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities for American workers.”

USCIS noted that the current random selection process has been criticized for “allowing unscrupulous employers to exploit it by flooding the selection pool with lower-skilled foreign workers paid at low wages, to the detriment of the American workforce.”

The not-yet-published final rule states that the new weighted selection process will favor higher-skilled, higher-paid foreign nationals while continuing to allow employers to obtain H-1Bs across all wage levels.

The rule will take effect on February 27 and apply to the H-1B registration season for fiscal year 2027.

RELATED: America last: Is Big Tech hiding jobs from US citizens to hire cheaper foreign labor from India and China?

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

“The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser stated.

“The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers. With these regulatory changes and others in the future, we will continue to update the H-1B program to help American businesses without allowing the abuse that was harming American workers.”

In September, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation requiring employers to pay an additional $100,000 per H-1B visa.

“As part of the Trump administration’s commitment to H-1B reform, we will continue to demand more from both employers and aliens so as not to undercut American workers and to put America first,” Tragesser added.

RELATED: Trump admin announces major H-1B visa abuse investigation, but critics want more

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

Up to 65,000 new H-1B visas can be issued each year, with an additional 20,000 for individuals with a master’s degree or higher. Recipients are generally admitted for up to three years, with the option to extend for up to another three years. Some recipients may be eligible for more than six years. Certain organizations, such as some universities and nonprofits, are exempt from the annual cap.

FWD.us estimated that there are as many as 730,000 H-1B holders in the U.S., along with 550,000 of their dependents, including spouses and children. The estimated total number of H-1B holders and their dependents exceeds the population of eight states, including Montana and Rhode Island.

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Comedian and actor Russell Brand has once again been charged with sexual crimes.

On Tuesday, Metropolitan Police confirmed that Brand is now charged with two new counts, one of rape and one of sexual assault.

Brand will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on January 20 to face the new charges.

These new charges come on the heels of previous charges filed against the actor in April 2025. The five previous charges involve four women and span “more than two decades,” per Reuters.

Brand has denied any criminal sexual misconduct previously.

RELATED: Russell Brand CHARGED on five counts: Justice or a grifter’s retribution?

Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

Brand has acknowledged a sex addiction in his younger days, but when the charges came out, he said that “what I never was, was a rapist.”

Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Tariq Farooqi, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports, including those connected to the two new charges, continue to receive support from specially trained officers.”

Reuters reported that Brand will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on January 20 to face the new charges.

The trial related to the previous charges is scheduled for June 16.

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​Politics, Russell brand, Sexual assault charges, Rape allegations, Metropolitan police, Westminster magistrates court 

Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska announced his terminal diagnosis on Tuesday.

The tragic news was shared in a post on X, where Sasse conceded that he is “gonna die.” Sasse revealed his diagnosis is metastasized stage-four pancreatic cancer, but in the same breath proclaimed his deep faith and hope in Christ.

‘The process of dying is still something to be lived.’

“This is a tough note to write, but since a bunch of you have started to suspect something, I’ll cut to the chase: Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die,” Sasse wrote. “Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.”

“I’m blessed with amazing siblings and half-a-dozen buddies that are genuinely brothers,” Sasse added. “As one of them put it, ‘Sure, you’re on the clock, but we’re all on the clock.’ Death is a wicked thief, and the bastard pursues us all.

RELATED: Republican senator announces retirement, citing exhaustion: ‘I feel like a sprinter in a marathon’

Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images

In the message, Sasse reflected on his many personal and professional accomplishments throughout his 53 years of life, expressing deep gratitude and admiration for his family. Sasse also wrote about the difficulty of navigating tragedy during Christmas, which he described as “a time to orient our hearts toward the hope of what’s to come.”

“Not an abstract hope in fanciful human goodness; not hope in vague hallmark-sappy spirituality; not a bootstrapped hope in our own strength (what foolishness is the evaporating-muscle I once prided myself in),” Sasse said.

“Nope — often we lazily say ‘hope’ when what we mean is ‘optimism.’ To be clear, optimism is great, and it’s absolutely necessary, but it’s insufficient. It’s not the kinda thing that holds up when you tell your daughters you’re not going to walk them down the aisle. Nor telling your mom and pops they’re gonna bury their son.”

RELATED: ‘Unnecessary and protracted’: Elise Stefanik drops out of New York governor’s race

Photo by HANNAH MCKAY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In addition to leaning on God and his family, Sasse said he will pursue medical intervention.

“Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived,” Sasse said. “We’re zealously embracing a lot of gallows humor in our house, and I’ve pledged to do my part to run through the irreverent tape.”

“But for now, as our family faces the reality of treatments, but more importantly as we celebrate Christmas, we wish you peace: ‘The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. … For to us a son is given (Isaiah 9).”

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​Ben sasse, Senate republicans, Cancer, Cancer diagnosis, Terminal cancer, Christian, Christianity, Politics 

A former U.S. Army official says the federal government’s gift to service members this Christmas is a signal to troops that their sacrifices are appreciated.

Patrick Murphy, a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania and the former U.S. undersecretary of the Army for the Obama administration, praised the Warrior Dividend as a sign of respect for military families.

‘There is a troubling tendency to politicize military leadership and culture.’

Last week, President Trump announced that approximately 1.5 million military members would receive a bonus of $1,776 to thank them for their service and to commemorate 250 years of the U.S. military.

According to the former congressman, the payment is well deserved.

“Having served in uniform and later at the Pentagon, I saw firsthand how much our troops give and how often that sacrifice shows up as stress on families, finances, and retention,” Murphy, a decorated former JAG Corps attorney, told Blaze News.

Murphy stated that with a quarter of military families operating on a single income, many troops suffer from significant financial strain, which is “one of the leading causes of our suicide epidemic.”

He added, “The Warrior Dividend isn’t just about pay. It’s about honoring a long-overdue moral obligation. It’s a signal to our troops and their families that their sacrifices are supported and valued.”

RELATED: Teenager sues high school after tribute to Charlie Kirk was called vandalism

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Presidential treatment

Murphy told Blaze News about his experience working under different administrations and said they all have made attempts to show support for U.S. troops in their own way.

Citing President Obama’s “groundwork” for reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs, President Biden addressing housing and suicide prevention among service members, and Trump’s financial support for the military, Murphy said he feels “core support for our troops has remained consistent, but the tone, priorities, and follow-through of leadership have varied.”

With that in mind, Murphy urged politicians to treat the military in an apolitical manner.

“There is a troubling tendency to politicize military leadership and culture, something I believe undermines readiness and trust. The Armed Forces function best when they are professional, trusted, and insulated from partisan conflict.”

RELATED: Army, Navy release stunning uniforms ahead of historic matchup honoring America’s 250th birthday

Photo by Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images

Tapping Gen Z

Murphy is noted for having recruited more than 120,000 Gen Z Americans through a military initiative called Soldier for Life. He detailed his recruitment strategy, admitting it was not easy to get messaging through to a new generation. Therefore modern methodology and a fresh approach were needed.

“Gen Z is a group that is smart, driven, and looking for meaning. So we reimagined our outreach and met them where they are — digitally,” Murphy recalled.

The approach included a focus on benefits that would appeal to that generation, like education, leadership training, and careers in artificial intelligence. As well, Murphy said he ensured the core messaging focused on “America, its diversity, its values, and its evergreen need for genuine, authentic leadership.”

“We weren’t just selling a job; we were calling young people to be part of something bigger than themselves. And when you show Gen Z that service is not just honorable but empowering, they respond. That’s how you build the next generation of leaders, in and out of uniform.”

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​News, Obama, Trump, Biden, Us army, Military, 1776, Warrior dividend, Veteran, Recruitment, Politics 

A nine-year MLB veteran is taking issue with apparent cross-dressing on a Disney Cruise ship.

Ender Inciarte won three gold gloves with the Atlanta Braves while appearing in one MLB All-Star Game before retiring in 2022.

‘I don’t think it’s hate i just don’t want to normalize that behavior.’

Now, Inciarte is calling out Disney Cruise Line for apparently having a man dressed a woman speaking to kids.

“Hey [Disney Cruise Line] love your cruises!” Inciarte wrote on X. “Except for the part that there are man dressed as woman … thought you already got over it.”

This immediately drew backlash from some readers, including one man who called Inciarte a “little fragile guy” who “gets upset easily while other people live their lives peacefully without bothering anyone.”

The 5-foot-11-inch outfielder replied, according to an X translation, “It wasn’t hatred or a personal attack. It was an opinion based on my convictions. I believe in respecting everyone, but also in calling things by their name without mockery or contempt. Living in peace doesn’t mean silencing one’s conscience. Take care, champion!”

RELATED: Family ‘sick’ after apparently discovering transvestite doing little girl’s hair and makeup at Disney boutique

— (@)

A Tampa Bay baseball fan rudely asked the former player, “Have you considered going to Hell, Ender?”

“No. I’ve been saved from that thanks to Jesus!” Inciarte enthusiastically stated in response.

While it is unclear if Inciarte was drawing from a personal experience or a video he saw online, he explained his reasoning when replying to a reader who said his kids would be traumatized seeing “dudes dressed as women.”

The Venezuelan explained, “Where is my hate? All i am saying is having my kid enter a place where a 6ft tall guy is dressed as a woman and acting like one would traumatize my kid on a family cruise.”

He added, “I don’t think it’s hate i just don’t want to normalize that behavior.”

RELATED: Disney did something it hasn’t done in nearly 30 years — it will delight Christian parents and drive liberals crazy

Photo by George Rose/Getty Images

While Disney has not responded to inquiries from outlets like Fox News Digital to confirm the allegations, this would not be the first time a transgender person or cross-dresser was spotted at a Disney business dealing with children.

In 2024, a family chronicled a transvestite cutting children’s hair and applying makeup at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Walt Disney World.

At Disneyland in 2023, the same boutique had a man dressed as a woman working in front of the store to welcome guests and schedule young children for their makeovers.

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​Fearless, Mlb, Baseball, Disney, Disney cruise, Transgender, Sports 

Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming is setting her sights on higher office as the 2026 primaries continue to take shape.

Hageman has served her district as an ally to President Donald Trump after kicking off a political career in the nation’s capital by ousting former Rep. Liz Cheney in the 2022 Republican primary. Cheney was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6 melee, resulting in a landslide defeat the following election cycle.

‘We must keep up this fight.’

Hageman is now pursuing the U.S. Senate after Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming announced her retirement on Friday.

“Wyoming is a beautiful state, but our people matter the most,” Hageman said in her campaign announcement. “Our faith, our family, our community, and our county. That’s what we care about. That’s what we fight for.”

RELATED: Republican senator announces retirement, citing exhaustion: ‘I feel like a sprinter in a marathon’

David Williams/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Hageman pointed to the massive energy contributions Wyoming has made to the country, fueling the exponential improvement in technology and quality of life for Americans across the country. Hageman vowed to protect the energy industry and the working class, touting Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act she helped pass in Congress.

“We must keep up this fight, and that’s why today, I’m announcing my campaign for United States Senate,” Hageman said. “This fight is about making sure the next century sees the advancements of the last while protecting our culture and our way of life.”

RELATED: ‘Unnecessary and protracted’: Elise Stefanik drops out of New York governor’s race

Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

“We must dedicate ourselves to ensuring that the next 100 years is the next great American century. Wyoming is critical for achieving that goal.”

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​Harriet hageman, Wyoming, Cynthia lummis, 2026 primaries, 2026 elections, House republicans, Senate republicans, Liz cheney, January 6, Impeachment, Donald trump, Trump impeachment, Politics 

Virulent Trump critic George Conway III has filed to run as a Democrat for Rep. Jerry Nadler’s seat in New York, Federal Election Commission records show.

The supposedly conservative lawyer’s decision to turn his coat fully inside-out has been years in the making.

Conway, the ex-husband of former Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway, turned sour after failing to seize an opportunity to serve in the first Trump administration’s Justice Department.

‘It’s time to lay it all on the line.’

While Conway said that he changed his mind and withdrew his name from consideration to run the civil division of the DOJ in 2017 after Trump canned then-FBI Director James Comey, Trump claimed that Conway was “VERY jealous of his wife’s success & angry that I, with her help, didn’t give him the job he so desperately wanted.”

Trump added that Conway was a “stone cold LOSER.”

Over the years, Conway grew increasingly antagonistic toward the president, ranting about Trump on cable news and attacking him in the pages of liberal publications.

Two years after weeping with joy in his MAGA hat over Trump’s 2016 win, Conway said in an interview, “I don’t feel comfortable being a Republican any more.”

The following year, he co-founded the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project with a handful of former Republican operatives, including Rick Wilson, Steve Schmidt, Reed Galen, and John Weaver, who allegedly had a habit of sexually harassing young men online.

RELATED: Why Democrats fear this midterm more than Republicans do

George Conway bloviating on CNN. Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images

According to a Dec. 17, 2019, op-ed that Conway co-authored with Weaver and the other Lincoln Project co-founders, the aim of the group was to “stem the damage [Trump] and his followers are doing to the rule of law, the Constitution, and the American character.”

With this aim in mind, the Lincoln Project proceeded to stage a white supremacy rally, bankrolled efforts to torpedo Trump-aligned Republicans, and churned out pro-Kamala Harris content such as the recent “Be a Man, Vote for a Woman” ad.

Although Conway stepped away from the Lincoln Project in 2020, he did not give up his fixation with Trump.

Last year, he supported Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign and launched a six-figure ad campaign hoping to dissuade Americans from voting for Trump.

After spending years throwing his money and hopes after losers and lost causes, Conway has decided to throw his hat in the ring.

In the first post on his new Substack page, Conway noted, “I’m going into the arena. I’ve already put my money where my mouth is, but now it’s time to lay it all on the line. It’s time to defeat Trumpism once and for all.”

“We need Democrats to take over Congress — and not just any Democrats, but the most fearless and relentless ones,” wrote Conway.

While New York’s 12th Congressional District is a safe blue seat, Conway is hardly the only Democrat hoping to make it his own. Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy; New York Assemblyman Micah Lasher (D); Democratic Socialist gun critic Cameron Kasky; and former Clinton White House fellow Jami Floyd are among the Democrat candidates presently in the running.

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​George conway, Conway, Congress, Anti-trump, Lincoln project, Tds, Trump derangement syndrome, House, Midterm, Elections, 2026, Politics 

This article is for those of you with fractured families. Maybe the holidays have always been stressful and unpleasant because your family argues. Maybe it’s worse in the 2020s because your family is at political odds, and your liberal family actually thinks you’re a Nazi and says so. Maybe you’ve been estranged from your family for years.

My guess is that many people who fit the description above have abandoned Christmas or any holiday celebrations. I know I did for years. My sister and I grew up in a family headed by an abusive, mentally and morally deranged mother. Our childhood was full of screaming, wooden spoons broken across our backsides, and bizarre punishments for crimes we didn’t commit.

My mother wasn’t actually there in the room with us in 1985. She didn’t see us. She was a little girl in her cold childhood home in 1960 screaming at her parents.

Maybe you’ve abandoned some of your family’s traditions too. Maybe, like me, you’ve spent years alone at Christmas. You don’t put up a tree. You don’t make that special dish.

But you don’t have to let the sorrowful ghosts of Christmases past turn every Christmas future into lonely melancholy. If you have just one single friend, or one single family member whose company you enjoy, I encourage you to haul out the holly, make that special dish, and bring the peace and comfort of Christmas back into your life.

If you grew up like I did, you need this, and you deserve it.

Going home, wherever that may be

This year, my sister and I are going to have a merry Christmas with her family. We are estranged from our mother but not from each other. Now my sister, my brother-in-law, and my nephew are my family. When I visit them at Christmas, I’m going home.

We’re going to have a loving holiday like we wanted to have, but could not, when we were children. We’re going to cook for each other, sing along to the Carpenters’ Christmas album (on a record player, of course), and string popcorn with a needle and thread to make the old-fashioned poor-people garlands we loved to put on the tree when we were young.

That’s not the only family tradition we’re going to relive, and that’s key. While we had a nightmare childhood, there were parts of it that are worth cherishing. There are traditions in our family that we do not have to “let go.” We don’t have to allow the traditions to be emotionally contaminated by our mother’s histrionic meltdowns at the holidays.

That was a lesson my sister and I learned only over time. In my younger years, I stayed by myself doing nothing and celebrating nothing. “Christmas” seemed like a sick and painful joke. What was there to celebrate (I recognize the religious celebration of Jesus’ birth, but I’m focused on something different here) about a time of year that brought shouting, accusations, and thrown dishes?

Our mother had borderline personality disorder. Such people have wild, extreme mood swings within minutes or hours. Under stress, they often lose their ability to control their emotions at all. For example, our mother could swing from raucous laughter to ugly crying while making plausibly deniable suicide threats: “I don’t feel I have anything to live for, and none of you would miss me anyway.”

She tried

But you know, she tried. We were poor, and our condition reminded my mother of her own childhood poverty. She had it worse than we did. For years, my mother lived in what I call “Appalachia of the North.” They had no hot running water, no indoor bathroom, and electricity was only a sometimes-service. Obviously gifts were few at Christmas time.

She wanted us to have a better Christmas than she had as a girl. We always put up a tree, we played the Christmas music, and my mother would usually make lasagna (I’m going to tell you how to make Christmas lasagna below). She couldn’t afford a huge pile of presents for us, but Aunt Vivian and Uncle Marty always sent a huge package of wrapped, brand-name presents to us kids. To us, it was magic. We did feel lucky.

But it couldn’t last. By about 4 p.m., mother would be in hysterics. It was nothing we children provoked. We were happy opening our presents, we thanked mom for everything she did, and we looked forward to Christmas dinner.

Out of the blue, she’d start yelling. We didn’t pick the wrapping paper up quickly enough. We didn’t save the pre-strung bows for next year (“Those are expensive, and you act like I’m made of money!”). It could be anything. She’d scream-cry about how “nothing I ever do is good enough for you kids!” or “I work so hard to make a nice holiday, and I wonder why the f**k I do because NONE OF YOU APPRECIATE IT!”

The lasagna would be slammed down on the table while we looked down at our hands trying not to cry (crying provoked punishment).

My mother wasn’t actually there in the room with us in 1985. She didn’t see us. She was a little girl in her cold childhood home in 1960 screaming at her parents. That didn’t make it right for her to inflict it on us, but I’m old enough now that I understand what was going on in her mind.

And now all of that is gone. It’s over. It’s no part of our lives. And it never will be again.

RELATED: A caregiver’s Christmas

Evrymmnt via iStock/Getty Images

An extraordinary blessing

As adults in our 40s, my sister and I got to know each other as real, whole people for the first time. Instead of being children alternately banding together to protect each other from mother, or as adversaries triangulated against each other to serve my mother’s whims, we met as brother and sister. And as adult friends.

We learned that not only did we love each other, but we liked each other too. It’s an extraordinary blessing.

I want this for you too. Whoever you are. I know some of you don’t have any family left, and I’m sorry. Do you have a friend similarly situated? Maybe he can come to your table this year.

If you have anyone to gather with at Christmas, revive an old family tradition of yours that you’ve neglected for years because it’s associated with hard memories. Maybe it’s a particular carol. Maybe it’s a special dish (our family is English by heritage, so we make Christmas pudding, for example). Whatever it is, why not “repurpose” it? Imbue it with peace and happiness from your life today. Give it new life. Give it love.

Christmas lasagna

This year, I’m going to make Christmas lasagna. For some reason, that dish became our family’s classic Christmas dinner, and I think it’s great. Here’s how to do it. Take your favorite lasagna recipe, but use these methods to alter it:

This is a meat-and-spinach lasagna (red and green for Christmas, see?).Mix the ricotta with two cloves of chopped garlic, a beaten egg, and a dash of basil and oregano. Don’t forget salt and pepper.Mix the spinach with mozzarella, and make that your one green layer.For the meat, use half ground beef and half Italian sausage.

If you make this and don’t like it, I’ll eat my hat.

Remember the Velveteen Rabbit. He was old and worn, and the world thought he wasn’t worth anything anymore and was best left to the past.

“Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, then you become real.”

Christmas wasn’t made real for us in the right way long ago. But we’ve made it real again today, in our late middle age, because we love each other.

God bless you, and merry Christmas.

​Christmas, Family, Lifestyle, Borderline personality disorder, Cluster b, Merry christmas, Intervention 

One of my daughter’s favorite parts of the holidays was being together with our entire family. She had a way of drawing everyone in, captivating us with her stories and adventures. She loved the lights, the sounds, and the energy of the season — the warmth and joy that made the holidays feel alive.

This Christmas will my family’s first without her joy and her warmth. Her life was taken too soon by someone who shouldn’t have been here to begin with. It didn’t have to be this way, and those responsible should be held accountable.

Christmas is a time for mercy. Katie was a merciful person and was quick to forgive. But we need more than mercy to move forward.

My daughter Katie Abraham was just 20 years old on January 19, when she was killed on the streets of Urbana, Illinois, by an illegal alien. Every day since has been marked by a void that cannot be filled — a pain that deepens as we approach the first anniversary of her death.

Her life was stolen by Julio Cucul-Bol, an illegal alien using an alias, who fled on foot after slamming into the vehicle she was riding in at nearly 80 miles per hour.

Bol was driving drunk and had previously been deported. In federal court, through an interpreter, he stated that he had no formal education, could not read or write in any language, and did not speak English — even after years in this country.

I refuse to accept that what happened to my little girl was accidental. The factors that caused her death were deliberate, reckless, and completely avoidable. They are the direct result of extreme sanctuary policies championed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) and his political allies. Illinois leaders deliberately ignore the harm these policies cause families like mine because acknowledging it would expose their recklessness.

Compassion, in Illinois, seems reserved exclusively for illegal aliens — while victims and citizens are forgotten.

Bol was eventually apprehended by U.S. marshals two days after President Trump took office, caught in south Texas while heading for the border. I am grateful to the president, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and ICE for securing the border immediately. Had Joe Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas remained in charge, I firmly believe Bol would have escaped into Mexico and would never have been held accountable.

Bol accepted a plea deal of 30 years, of which he will serve 85%. Still, he killed two women and injured three others. No matter how it is framed, justice feels incomplete.

My daughter’s killer shouldn’t have been here in the first place, but Pritzker and the other sanctuary politicians in Springfield did everything they could to protect him from federal law enforcement. No accountability. No protection for law-abiding citizens. They call it compassion. These officials pretend to care about everyone while actually caring about no one.

Which brings me to the question that will not leave my mind: Where is the responsibility of the state of Illinois?

Does Illinois bear no responsibility for policies that allowed someone so dangerous to live freely among us? Who in state government will step up and challenge these policies? Who will speak for Katie?

So far, not a single Illinois politician has. Our governor is silent when it comes to my daughter, even as he loudly defends those who entered our state illegally and without vetting.

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Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

As parents, we do everything we can to protect our children — only to watch radical leaders advance policies that put them in harm’s way. It is infuriating to have no recourse against the destructive one-party rule of what was once a great state. Politicians shield themselves with immunity while families like mine live with irreversible consequences.

I have lived in Illinois my entire life. I remember when this state had guardrails — when it would have intervened to protect its citizens, especially its children. That Illinois no longer exists.

Another word defines our current reality: exemption.

Why do some groups receive exemptions from personal responsibility while others do not? Why are repeated violations of federal and state law rewarded rather than punished? Illinois leadership seems to believe that those who break countless laws will somehow transform into model citizens once released without consequence. History tells us the opposite.

Christmas is indeed a time for mercy. Katie was a merciful person and was quick to forgive. But we need more than mercy to move forward. The theologian Thomas Aquinas famously said that “mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution,” and he was right. Forgiveness without accountability is not compassion — it is negligence.

Without that accountability and the acknowledgment of wrongdoing, the people of Illinois will continue to suffer, and sanctuary policies will just create more victims.

So I ask again: Where is Pritzker’s responsibility? Where is the responsibility of the state of Illinois?

Because families like mine are paying the price.

​Christmas, Katie abraham, Illinois, Opinion & analysis, Jb pritzker, Sanctuary policies, Sanctuary states, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice raids, Chicago, Crime, Drunk driving deaths, Drunk driver, Illegal aliens, Illegal immigrants, Criminal aliens, Democrats, Homeland security, Accountability, Justice