Friday December 26th, 2025
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
My son has narrated the last book I wrote.Please consider listening to it and encouraging others to do so too.(Click HERE)
World & Nation
ICE: 70% Arrested Had Criminal Ties
Roughly 70% of illegal migrants arrested by U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the second Trump administration
reportedly had been convicted of or faced charges for criminal offenses.
New data provided to the Washington Examiner shows the Trump
administration arrested about 595,000 illegal immigrants between Jan.
20 and Dec. 11, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE said 70%, roughly 416,000, had "criminal convictions or pending
criminal charges" in the United States, underscoring President Donald
Trump's promise to prioritize the "worst of the worst" in immigration
enforcement.
Trump Launches 'Powerful, Deadly Strike Against ISIS Terrorist Scum' in Nigeria
The silent nights are over, according to President Donald Trump, who
announced "a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in
Northwest Nigeria" on Christmas night.
"Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States
launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in
Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing,
primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and
even Centuries!" Trump wrote at 6 p.m. ET on Truth Social.
"I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop
the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and
tonight, there was.
"The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the
United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our Country
will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper," he wrote.
US Airlines Cancel Over 1,000 Flights Due to Winter Storm Warnings
Airlines in the United States have canceled or delayed thousands of
flights during peak holiday travel on Friday due to severe winter
storm warnings, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
A total of 1,097 flights were canceled and 3,608 delayed as of 12:00 p.m. ET, the website said.
The National Weather Service issued warnings of winter storms this
afternoon which "will cause hazardous travel conditions for the Great
Lakes into the northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New England today
through Saturday morning."
New White House plaques spark outrage
The White House has installed a series of plaques along a newly created
“Presidential Walk of Fame” that sharply criticize former Democratic
presidents. The plaques particularly target former President Joe Biden
and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
A separate display presents an expansive list of accomplishments attributed to President Donald Trump.
Critics across the political spectrum argue that the “Presidential Walk
of Fame” departs sharply from historical norms for White House
exhibits, which have traditionally aimed for institutional neutrality
rather than overt partisan messaging.
Former White House ethics officials also warn that presenting one-sided
praise and condemnation in an official setting blurs the line between
governance and political advocacy.
Trump's 79 Percent Increase in GDP Growth Rate — 5 Ways He Did It
In the final weeks of the 2025 calendar year, President Donald Trump
and his allies are touting what they call a historic economic
achievement: a 79% increase in the rate of U.S. GDP growth since the
fourth quarter of 2024, the final full quarter of the Biden
administration.
The most recent government estimates point to strong quarterly
expansion, with Biden ending his term with an anemic GDP growth rate of
just 2.4% — barely above recessionary levels.
With less than a year in office, Trump's economic policies are causing
the economy to boom with an annualized rate of 4.3% in the third
quarter of 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In social media posts, Trump has framed the economy as entering a
"Golden Age," with aides crediting a suite of policy moves — tax cuts,
tariffs, deregulation, and energy strategy — for driving what they
characterize as a dramatic expansion.
Grand jury declines to indict man in deadly Kentucky State University shooting
Jacob Lee Bard's attorneys say he acted in self-defense when a group of people gathered to attack his family on campus
A grand jury declined to indict the father of two Kentucky State
University students who was charged with murder after an on-campus
shooting left one student dead and another critically injured.
Defense attorney Scott Danks announced on Facebook that a grand jury
decided not to indict his client, Jacob Lee Bard, for the Dec. 9
shooting and that he is out of jail. Bard's attorneys have long
maintained that he was justified in shooting the two people who were
beating his son, as 20-30 people gathered to attack the family.
"GRAND JURY FINDS JACOB ACTED IN SELF DEFENSE AND REFUSES TO INDICT," Danks wrote. "He's out of jail and the case is over!"
Repeat offender freed after SWAT standoff tied to three shootings in one month: report
Abraham Herrera was freed just two days after SWAT standoff, then allegedly struck again
A Texas repeat offender is back behind bars following his alleged
involvement in three separate shootings spanning the course of just one
month.
Abraham Herrera, 21, is facing several charges stemming from his
alleged role in two drive-by shootings and a standoff with SWAT in Hays
County – located roughly 15 miles from Austin – last month, according
to FOX 7.
The first shooting reportedly unfolded on Nov. 3, after authorities
were called to the scene after receiving reports of shots fired in the
500 block of Santa Fe Run in Kyle.
Hays County deputies found a homeowner who had been seriously injured
after multiple rounds were fired into the home, FOX 7 reported. The
shooting was determined to be a random act of violence, with
authorities finding no clear motive.
New US military GenAI tool ‘critical first step’ in future of warfare, says expert
The GenAI tool gives Department of War
officials a type of sandbox to experiment with for still bigger
innovations to come, an expert said
The recently launched "GenAI" tool for U.S. service members and
Department of War workers is a "critical first step" in the future of
warfare, according to a military expert.
This month, the Pentagon announced the launch of GenAI.mil, a
military-focused AI platform powered by Google Gemini. Secretary of War
Pete Hegseth said the platform is designed to give U.S. military
personnel direct access to AI tools to help "revolutioniz[e] the way we
win."
On Monday, the Department of War also announced that the Pentagon is
further integrating Elon Musk’s xAI Grok family of models into the
GenAI platform, allowing employees to use xAI safely on secure
government systems for routine work, including tasks involving
sensitive but unclassified information.
Trump's talks with Zelenskyy to address security guarantees and reconstruction, Ukraine leader says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he will meet
with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida over the weekend.
Zelenskyy told journalists that the two leaders will discuss security
guarantees for Ukraine during Sunday's talks, and that the 20-point
plan under discussion “is about 90% ready.”
An “economic agreement” also will be discussed, Zelenskyy said, but
added that he was unable to confirm “whether anything will be finalized
by the end.”
The Ukrainian side will also raise "territorial issues", he said.
Moscow has insisted that Ukraine relinquish the remaining territory it
still holds in the Donbas — an ultimatum that Ukraine has rejected.
Russia has captured most of Luhansk and about 70% of Donetsk — the two
areas that make up the Donbas.
We know the reasons for violence against Jews — but refuse to say them aloud
Jews celebrating Hanukkah were just slaughtered by Muslim gunmen on an
Australian beach, in an imitation of the Oct. 7 massacres.
An inert Europe is canceling Christmas celebrations out of fear of threats of violence from Muslim minorities.
In the West, when an Islamist shoots a Jew, politicians often offer two
bizarre remedies: gun control or a task force to tackle Islamophobia.
Yet, our political class rarely offers data on the overwhelming
preponderance of targeting Jews rather than Muslims, much less the vast
disparity in Jewish-on-Muslim versus Muslim-on-Jewish violence.
I’m the new Virginia governor and affordability is what everyone needs
New administration plans to address housing, healthcare and energy to boost economic competitiveness
This November, Virginians elected me to be their 75th governor with the
largest margin of victory for a Democrat in modern history, in part
because I’ve been focused above all on one big issue: affordability.
Across Virginia, I heard from families in every community in every part
of our commonwealth about the impact of high costs. I met seniors
struggling to afford prescription drugs, parents worried about rising
energy bills and graduates just breaking into the workforce who
couldn't find housing that they could afford.
But I also heard a loud refrain from one other group: business leaders.
No matter where I traveled, I met executives and entrepreneurs who were
struggling to find the right candidates to fill job openings and
increasingly worried that Virginia’s best employees and talent were
being priced out of the commonwealth.
