WORLD NEWS
U.S. Shoots Down Houthi Drone as Iran-Backed Jihadis Escalate Pirate Attacks
Acts of piracy by the Houthi insurgents of Yemen escalated on Wednesday as the Iran-backed terrorists launched two missiles at a commercial tanker full of jet fuel as it approached the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
A U.S. Navy warship responding to the incident shot down a Houthi drone that may have been sent to attack it.
NATO Warns Risk Putin Won’t Stop With Ukraine if He Wins War
If Putin isn’t stopped from occupying Ukraine he may just keep going and invade other countries, NATO warns as it states the high levels of spending on the conflict is an investment in the alliance’s own future security.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the newly elected Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico on Thursday, and in comments that may have been meant to show up the anti-war statesman the alliance chief warned of the potential consequences of failing to underwrite Ukraine’s defence.
China Starts to Openly Discuss Bailing Out Real Estate Developers
Deputy Chief of China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Dong Jianguo said at an economic seminar on Wednesday that the government will “implement policy support” to “meet the reasonable financing demand of developers” and “support developers with short-term cash flow troubles.”
His remarks were among the first signals that China is planning a bailout for its beleaguered real estate industry.
Jake Sullivan Tells Israel to End ‘Intense’ War in Time for Presidential Election
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reportedly told Israeli leaders Thursday that they should end the “intense” phase of fighting against Hamas in Gaza in the next few weeks — meaning right before the start of the 2024 presidential election.
Biden is known to be suffering politically because of the war, which has split the Democratic Party. Republicans also contend that the war would never have broken out if not for Biden’s weak foreign policy; there were no such wars by Hamas against Israel during Donald Trump’s four-year tenure.
Chinese Mourners Use AI to Create Avatars of the Dead
The latest unsettling high-tech craze in China involves bereaved families hiring artificial intelligence (AI) firms to create audiovisual simulations of the dearly departed.
Barron’s reported on Wednesday that some Chinese mourners cobble together avatars of the dead themselves, hiring various companies to reproduce their voices and digital likenesses, while others turn to replication firms that boast of creating eerily accurate digital avatars of the dead with only a few minutes of voice recordings and a handful of photographs.
“On A.I. technology, China is in the highest class worldwide. And there are so many people in China, many with emotional needs, which gives us an advantage when it comes to market demand,” Zhang Zewei, founder of an AI company called Super Brain, said.
Zhang said his company charges up to $2,800 to create an avatar within 20 days. Some of the “ghost bots” are automated and interactive. In other cases, a Super Brain staffer can digitally alter their face and voice to appear as a lost loved one and hold a video call with grieving families.
Zhang’s company can also create avatars of people who are not dead, such as estranged spouses and children who live far away, which might prove even more controversial than creating digital clones of the dead.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
“It’s from the solar flare”: New York City power outage video sparks wild speculation online
Most of New York City was enveloped in darkness for a brief second after several residents experienced a split-second power outage late Thursday night on December 14, 2023. As countless baffled New Yorkers took to social media to share their concern about the split-second outage, footage emerged on X (formerly Twitter) showing smoke coming from a Brooklyn power plant.
Biden Responds to House Impeachment Inquiry, Calls It ‘Baseless Political Stunt’
President Joe Biden has accused Republicans of ‘attacking me with lies,’ as the House formalizes its impeachment inquiry against him.
President Joe Biden has publicly responded to the House of Representatives formalizing its impeachment inquiry against him, calling the whole action a “baseless political stunt.”
House Republicans released the 14-page measure to formalize the House impeachment inquiry of President Biden last week, which then passed on Dec. 13, 221–212. The action gives more power to the probe into the actions of the president, the White House, and the Biden family.
President Biden was scathing of the move in his Dec. 13 statement to the press, saying that Republicans are “attacking me with lies.”
DOJ Prosecutor Accused Of Protecting Joe And Hunter Biden Departs Her Post
A federal prosecutor accused of protecting President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden is no longer with the Department of Justice (DOJ), a source familiar confirmed to the Daily Caller.
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler have accused Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Lesley Wolf of preventing a search of Joe Biden’s guest residence and stonewalling a planned search of Hunter Biden’s storage locker. Wolf is no longer with the DOJ and left her post weeks ago, Fox News first reported
Haley’s Top Backers Include Democrat Donors, Silicon Valley Billionaires
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is tied to numerous political action committees that raised more than $28 million the last time they were required to disclose.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is racking up endorsements from key conservative fundraisers ahead of the 2024 primaries. She already has solid backing from wealthy donors in Silicon Valley, including those who typically donate to the Democratic Party, as well as her network of political action committees (PAC).
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings and her campaign’s spending ahead of the Iowa Caucuses, the former U.N. ambassador’s main political action committee is SFA Fund Inc. However, Ms. Haley is also linked to two other super PACs and a 501(c)(4) organization.
More Trump Co-Defendants Expected to Take Plea Deals: Prosecutor
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is prosecuting a racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 14 others, and expects the total number of defendants to go down before the case goes to trial.
Already, four co-defendants have taken plea bargains, avoiding jail time in exchange for their testimonies against the remaining defendants.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Ms. Willis dismissed the presiding judge’s concern that there were still too many defendants to try together without severing the case.
Michigan Appeals Court Rules to Keep Trump on the Ballot
‘President Trump remains undefeated against these frivolous legal claims,’ spokesperson Steven Cheung stated.
The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision, ruling on Thursday that former President Donald Trump was eligible to appear on the state’s primary ballot.
“Nothing in the statutory framework that controls the process for presidential primary elections confers any authority on the Secretary of State to make eligibility determinations or to refuse to place a candidate on that particular ballot based on an eligibility determination,” the three-judge panel wrote, echoing the lower court opinion.
The appeals court declined to rule on the issue of insurrection and did not hold an evidentiary hearing.
FBI Director Warns ‘Elevated’ Risk of Influence in 2024 Election
FBI Director Chris Wray says that his agency is ‘keenly focused’ on the matter.
The FBI believes there is an “elevated” risk of outside election interference or influence in the 2024 presidential election, according to its director, Christopher Wray.
“I think it’s fair to say that they are elevated from where they were before,” Mr. Wray told a Senate committee last week. “And to elaborate just slightly on that point, obviously we saw, and it’s not disputed, that the Russians tried to interfere in the 2016 election and then continued. But what we’ve seen since then is other adversaries attempting to take a page out of the Russians’ playbook.”
He added that the FBI and other national security officials are “keenly focused” on the threat of potential election interference in 2024 elections. That includes focusing on “the risk that foreign adversaries, whether it’s Russia, whether it’s China, whether it’s Iran or others, would seek to interfere in our elections,” he continued.
Nineteen Years Ago, Journalist Gary Webb Was Murdered After Exposing CIA Drug Trafficking
On December 10, 2004, the body of journalist Gary Webb, 49, was discovered in his home near Sacramento after a moving company worker found a note posted to his front door that read: “Please do not enter. Call 911 and ask for an ambulance.”
Webb’s death was listed as a suicide, but Webb was found with two bullet holes in the head, indicating that he was executed. In the days leading up to his death, Webb had told friends that he was receiving death threats, being regularly followed by what he thought were government agents, and that he was concerned about strange individuals who were seen breaking into and leaving his house.
In the late 1990s, Webb had written a series of stories for the San José Mercury News, which provided the basis for his book, Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1998).
In it, Webb detailed how the explosion of crack cocaine in South Central Los Angeles during the 1980s was sparked by two Nicaraguan émigrés, Danilo Blandón and Norwin Meneses, who sold huge amounts of cocaine to raise funds for a CIA-backed rebel army—the Contras.
Webb was a Pulitzer Prize winner whose “Dark Alliance” series went viral in the early days of the internet. It caused a firestorm that led to the resignation of CIA Director John Deutch after he was grilled by angry Black activists at a meeting in L.A.
Republicans Introduce Plan to Verify U.S. Citizenship for Mail-In Voters
Republicans on the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, led by Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), have introduced legislation that would give states the power to verify the American citizenship of applicants registering to vote via mail.
This week, Britt and fellow Republicans introduced the “Citizen Ballot Protection Act” which would give states the ability to more accurately verify that only American citizens are being approved for voter registrations.
Britt said the legislation is necessary as several blue states, counties, and cities pass ordinances opening voting rights to foreign nationals — at least for municipal elections.
Latino Democrats Tout Migrants as Their Constituents
Democratic Latino politicians are demanding President Joe Biden protect the interests of foreign migrants, regardless of the huge civic and pocketbook damage to unhyphenated Americans, Latino-Americans, and legal immigrants.
“We are here to protect immigration as it is,” Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-CA), told an audience of legislators, activists, and media at a December 13 rally beside the Capitol.
The rally called on President Joe Biden to deny any significant concessions to GOP negotiators in the debate over his demand for $14 billion in emergency funds to accelerate and hide his migration flood, and funds for wartime aid for Israel and Ukraine.
Barragan said:
Let me put it a little differently. We’re here to call on President Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to reject the immigration and border bills at the hands of Republicans in the ongoing negotiations around the supplemental [emergency funding bill]
The event included multiple Democratic legislators who championed illegal migrants and future migrants — and rhetorically divorced their American constituents.
Almost none of the legislators mentioned the cost of migration to their many constituents — Latino and other — who lose wages, jobs, homes, status, and investments because desperate migrants must work for less.
‘The Dawn of AI Politics:’ Pennsylvania Democrat Rolls Out Chatbot to Robocall Voters
Pennsylvania Democrat Shemaine Daniels’ congressional campaign has begun utilizing an AI chatbot named “Ashley” to robocall voters in the Keystone State. The company behind the AI chatbot claims “The dawn of AI politics is upon us.”
Vice reports that Shemaine Daniels, a Democrat congressional candidate in Pennsylvania, has put a new twist on campaigning by employing an interactive AI chatbot named “Ashley” to robocall voters. This initiative, leading up to the 2024 election, marks a significant shift in the use of AI technology in elections.
Georgia teacher accused of threatening to kill student over Israeli flag, police say
A school teacher in the US state of Georgia was arrested after allegedly threatening to behead a student who expressed taking offense over his Israeli flag, according to authorities.
Benjamin Reese’s arrest at the middle school named after the town of Warner Robins occurred on after a student approached and told him she was offended by the Israeli flag hanging in his classroom, the local news station WMAZ reported, citing a police account of the case.
Reese, a seventh-grade social studies teacher, allegedly replied that he was a Jew and had relatives who lived in Israel. The student said “Israelis killing Palestinians” made the flag offensive, which prompted Reese to accuse her of being antisemitic.
Judge sentences Black child, 10, to three months of probation for peeing in public
Mississippi judge also orders child to write a book report on Kobe Bryant after officers arrested him for urinating in a parking lot
A 10-year-old Black child who urinated in a parking lot must serve three months’ probation and write a two-page book report on the late NBA star Kobe Bryant, a Mississippi judge has ordered.
Tate county youth court judge Rusty Harlow handed down the sentence Tuesday after the child’s lawyer reached an agreement with a special prosecutor. The prosecution threatened to upgrade the charge of “child in need of supervision” to a more serious charge of disorderly conduct if the boy’s family took the case to trial, said Carlos Moore, the child’s attorney.
“I thought any sensible judge would dismiss the charge completely. It’s just asinine,” Moore said. “There were failures in the criminal justice system all the way around.”
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
2026 Tax Increases in One Chart
In 2017, Republicans cut and reformed taxes for individuals and businesses. The vast majority of the changes for individuals expire at the end of 2025, which will increase taxes in 2026 by about $400 billion a year. There is broad bipartisan support to extend about three‐quarters of the tax cuts.
In addition to cutting individual and corporate tax rates, the 2017 reforms simplified taxpaying for millions of Americans, streamlined family tax benefits, and overhauled the international tax system, among many other reforms. Due in large part to the changes in business taxes, the law boosted economic growth, investment, and wages.
Before the end of 2025, lawmakers will need to address the pending tax increases and wrestle with their budgetary impact. Congress also has a number of other fiscal policy deadlines in 2025 and 2026, which include the reinstatement of the debt limit and possible sequestration (EPIC has a nice summary of upcoming fiscal policy deadlines here).
House votes to block EV mandate
The House of Representatives Wednesday passed legislation aimed at blocking Biden administration mandates that would force Americans to purchase electric vehicles (EVs).
New rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April would require that two out of every three cars in the US be electric by 2032. While the EPA cannot legally set quotas for car manufacturers, the rules set such tight emissions standards that to comply automakers would need to ensure two-thirds of their cars are electric.
But in a 221-197 vote last week — which included five Democrats — House legislators approved the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act (CARS). The bill prevents the EPA from “finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a proposed rule with respect to emissions from vehicles, and for other purposes.” The bill will now move to the Senate.
Last month over 4,000 car dealerships signed a letter to Joe Biden protesting the EPA’s rules, citing lack of consumer demand.
“Instead of tying the hands of American car manufacturers and forcing families to purchase vehicles not conducive to their lifestyle and pricing many families out of the market, we should encourage consumer choice,” said Rep. Tim Walberg (R-WI) in a statement. Walberg drafted the bill along with Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA). “The passage of the CARS Act is a win for not only the consumer but the entire auto industry, from the workers producing engines in my district to the dealers who can meet the demand for other vehicles. We have to be realistic, and while EVs may play a large role in the future of the auto industry, Washington should not discount other technologies like hydrogen, hybrids, and the internal combustion engine.”
ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its third-quarter 2023 U.S. Home Flipping Report showing that 72,543 single-family homes and condominiums in the United States were flipped in the third quarter. Those transactions represented 7.2 percent, or one of every 14 home sales nationwide, during the months running from July through September of 2023.
Seasonal Influence Eases U.S. Foreclosure Activity, Marking Slight Decline
ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its November 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 32,120 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – up 5 percent from a year ago, but down 7 percent from the prior month.
A United States labor agency wants to force Starbucks to reopen 23 stores after it claimed the coffee chain illegally shuttered the locations to block employees from unionizing.
The company shut down 16 locations in July 2022. The closed stores were located in a number of large cities, including Seattle, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago.
The National Labor Relations Board stated in a Wednesday complaint that eight of the Starbucks locations were unionized at the time they were shut down. The federal agency claimed that the company failed to notify the workers’ union, Starbucks Workers United, ahead of time about the closures, thereby denying the union the opportunity to bargain, according to NLRB spokesperson Matthew Hayward, Reuters reported.
Hayward stated that the NLRB wants to force Starbucks to reopen the locations, rehire the employees, provide those workers with lost pay and benefits, and bargain with the union.
Breitbart Business Digest: Joy to the Earth, the Rate Cuts Reign
Joy to the World, the Fed Is Here
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
The Christmas miracle of the Federal Reserve’s dovish pivot pushed the yield on the 10-year Treasury below four percent on Thursday, 10 basis points lower than where they ended after yesterday’s sharp decline. The two-year yield fell by about 12 basis points to 4.365, the lowest since the start of June.
Wall Street was also busy decking the halls with blue chip stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to a fresh record high as traders decked the halls, even as the Nasdaq slipped a bit.
Former Facebook Diversity Manager Admits to Stealing Millions from Mark Zuckerberg’s Company
A former diversity program manager at Facebook has pleaded guilty to defrauding Mark Zuckerberg’s company of more than $4 million through a sophisticated kickback scheme.
The New York Post reports that Barbara Furlow-Smiles, who was responsible for leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at Facebook, has admitted to orchestrating a complex fraud scheme that cost the social media giant more than $4 million. According to the Justice Department, Furlow-Smiles engaged in fraudulent activities between January 2016 and September 2021.
HEALTH
‘Potential foreign material’ prompts recall of nearly 2K cases Coca-Cola products
Coca-Cola said ‘no impacted product remains on the market,’ which includes Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta
First Time MDMA Filed for FDA Approval, Questions About Repercussions Unanswered
The new drug application (NDA) included results from two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, both of which were published in Nature.
The first-ever application for midomafetamine, commonly known as MDMA, to be approved as a new therapeutic drug was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday.
If approved, it would be the first psychedelic-assisted therapy, but this raises concerns for some experts.
Also known as ecstasy, MDMA is a synthetic drug that causes both hallucinogenic and stimulant effects.
9 Things You May Not Know About Mucus
Mucus might be gross, but it can offer clues about your health. Discover nine things about mucus and avoid a medication that can increase your risk of dysbiosis.
Most people don’t talk about mucus, which can lead to not knowing enough about how it is essential to your overall health. It’s a good idea to know about this protective barrier and how it helps your respiratory system
Mucus is composed of a water substance and a sticky substance, which together act a little like flypaper to capture dirt, debris and pathogens, and sweep them into your stomach where enzymes inactivate them before being eliminated through the digestive tract
You produce roughly 1 1/2 quarts (48 ounces) of mucus or snot each day, most of which is swept to the back of your throat and swallowed. The color is influenced by what it captures and whether you have an upper respiratory infection
Your nose can “run” when you’re outdoors and cold or when there is an inflammatory response from an infection or allergies. The “stuffiness” you experience is not from mucus but rather from swollen nasal turbinates that may respond to steam, humidity or essential oils like peppermint or eucalyptus
Don’t use Afrin to relieve congestion as it is physically addictive and the focus of structured addiction rehabilitation programs. Instead, take steps to take care of your respiratory system by staying hydrated, maintaining indoor humidity between 40% and 60% and promoting a healthy gut microbiome as part of your viral defense
Power Mall Product to try: SinuOrega – All natural. Ideal for supporting a healthy sinus response – wild spice oils in a sea salt saline base
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
UN ‘Climate’ Summit: End Energy (In US), Global Taxes, War on Humanity
Governments from around the world agreed to a global transition away from “fossil fuels,” greater limits on energy use, and a new fund to compensate governments of poorer nations for alleged damages caused by CO2 emissions from wealthier countries.
The outcome follows two weeks of negotiations at the United Nations climate summit held in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates.
The deal, adopted by consensus of the nearly 200 governments in attendance, is being framed by U.N. officials as a turning point for the world.
Critics, however, are sounding the alarm, saying the agreement and the broader process threaten both prosperity and liberty while doing little to nothing for the environment.
Climate Depot editor Marc Morano, a former U.S. Senate aide who has long worked on climate policy, said Republican leaders in Congress must push back against the agenda.
“This is Soviet-style central planning that simply must be stopped,” he told The Epoch Times.
ChatGPT Users Say the AI Chatbot Has Gotten Lazy and Sarcastic Before the Holidays
ChatGPT has become “lazy” and sarcastic according to many users of the popular AI chatbot, leading to the emergence of theories about its changing behavior. Some users are proposing that the AI has become less efficient and more sassy as the holiday season approaches.
Business Insider reports that recently, a strange theory has surfaced regarding ChatGPT’s performance. Users have noted a decline in the AI’s responsiveness and creativity, with some attributing this change to the AI “slowing down” for a winter break. This theory, while funny, raises questions about AI behavior and user expectations.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
House Passes Massive Defense Bill Despite FISA Objections
Massive $886.3 billion spending package heads to President Joe Biden’s desk after 90-minute rocket-docket debate and vote.
The annual defense policy bill is headed for the president’s desk, nearly three months late but just in time for Congress to get home for the holidays to end its year.
House conservatives raised objections over the massive package’s exclusion of “anti-woke” provisions that the chamber approved in July, including the repeal of the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy, and challenged its inclusion of a four-month extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s (FISA’s) Section 702, forcing a preliminary vote to adjourn rather than vote on a “flawed” bill.
But the motion from Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) failed 307–23. Moments later, the House adopted the $886.3 billion Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a 310–118 vote, sending the measure to President Joe Biden for his signature.
Tech giant Apple has changed its policy around data requests from law enforcement, with a court order now required to access user push notification data.
Apple has quietly changed its legal guidelines to now require U.S. law enforcement agencies to obtain a court order if they want access to specific aspects of the tech giant’s customer data.
In Apple’s updated guidelines, the tech giant will now only share customer data about push notifications with law enforcement “in response to a search warrant issued upon a showing of probable cause, or customer consent.” In the past, the company accepted a subpoena to hand over customer data.
The critical difference between the two is that a subpoena compels the company to act in response to a request for information. In contrast, a search warrant is far more aggressive and authorizes a legal authority to take action to retrieve the information.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Easter Egger Chicken: Appearance, Personality, and Egg-Laying Habits
The Easter Egger chicken is a unique hybrid of chicken that is known for its colorful eggs. These chickens are a popular choice for backyard flocks and homesteaders who want various egg colors, as Easter Eggers can lay eggs in shades of blue, green, and even pink.
Easter Eggers are not a recognized breed by the American Poultry Association, but rather a hybrid chicken that is a cross between various breeds. This means that Easter Eggers can vary in appearance, with some having feathered legs or crests on their heads. Despite this variability, Easter Eggers are generally easy to care for and make great pets for families with children.
CANCEL CULTURE
Michigan Abuse Case Spurs Homeschooling Debate
Officials accuse Michigan couples of using homeschooling to hide abuse. Meanwhile, public schools nationwide continue to lose students to home education.
Democratic officials in Michigan are calling for more state oversight into homeschooling after authorities allege it was used as a cover to help conceal acts of child abuse—setting off a fierce debate over the government’s role in at-home education.
The case in Clinton County, Michigan, involves two couples—Jerry and Tamal Flore and Tammy and Joel Brown—in what state Attorney General Dana Nessel described earlier this month as a conspiracy to profit from adopting nearly 30 children, some of whom they are accused of abusing, according to the Lansing State Journal.
“The allegations in this matter are heinous and egregious,” said Jen Garrison Stuber, Advocacy Chair for the Washington Homeschool Organization.
Megyn Kelly Calls for Boycott of Taylor Swift for Attending Gaza Relief Fundraiser
Megyn Kelly has called for a boycott of pop superstar Taylor Swift after the singer attended a comedy show with an attached fundraiser aimed at providing “humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza.”
Swift reportedly attended comedian Ramy Youssef’s “More Feelings” stand-up tour at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last Friday, which would provide relief funds to the people of Gaza.
Elise Stefanik, Other Republicans Call for Harvard to Be Stripped of Billions in Federal Funds
Republicans including Rep Elise Stefanik (R-NY) are calling for Harvard to be stripped of billions of dollars in federal funding and tax breaks over the Ivy League institution’s “antisemitism shame.” Stefanik explains, “We must defund the rot in America’s higher education.”
Harvard, which benefits from hundreds of millions of dollars in federal payments, as well as sweeping tax breaks — which have helped to make the school the world’s richest academic institution — is now being investigated by the Department of Education over whether it has violated the civil rights of its Jewish students.
GOOD NEWS
Full ‘Cold Moon’ Will Rise to the Top of the Sky Around Christmas—Here’s What You Need to Know
The meaning of Christmas lives in its folklore, and it’s amazing how many of the Christmases we remember were so enchanted by one facet of Holiday mythos that often goes unsung: the glorious full moon around Christmas time.
The December full moon is called the Cold Moon. And while this year’s Cold Moon won’t fall exactly on Christmas, it will come quite close, arriving on Dec. 26. It may be seen shining remarkably high in the sky by many North Americans on Boxing Day eve—perhaps illuminating their drive home from the shopping mall on one of the shortest days of the year.
Here’s what you need to know about the full Cold Moon, including some folklore derived from ancestral European and Native American cultures, plus some astronomical tidbits.
Amazing! But what was the baby doing in the bassinet and not being sheltered?
Four-month-old survives being sucked into a tornado in Tennessee
A 4-month-old boy has survived after a tornado in Tennessee sucked him up from his family’s mobile home, which was demolished in the storm.
Sydney Moore told WSMV-TV that when the tornado hit their home in Clarksville on Saturday, it ripped off the roof and lifted the bassinet with her son inside. Her boyfriend, the child’s father, tried to grab the bassinet but was spun up into the twister as well, Moore said.
“He was just holding on to the bassinet the whole time, and they went into circles, he said, and then they got thrown,” Moore said.
At about the same time in another room, as the wind howled, Moore decided to jump on top of their other son, who is one. She grabbed the child as the walls collapsed, she said.
Boy Who Started Food Bank in his Shed Now Opens Holiday ‘Gift Bank’ for Hundreds of Poor Kids
Last year, GNN reported on the kind heart of Isaac Winfield, who opened a food bank in his garden shed to help the poor during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Now, Isaac is preparing to open a “gift bank” for moms and dads who can’t afford presents for their children, in addition to a fifth shed-born foodbank.
December is a big month for Isaac. It’s his birthday month, but there’s also Christmas, and the anniversary of the launch of his food bank, which he started with money from his birthday.
He went on to open additional food banks in his hometown of Redditch, in Worcestershire after realizing how many people in his community needed a helping hand.
His gift bank opened on Tuesday, and a fifth foodbank opened on Wednesday after enlisting the help of the local Greenland Pub to store the hundreds of toys and gifts for needy families he’s received from donors.
“Christmas can be a stressful time and Isaac wanted to help as many people as possible have a celebration without worrying about what is under the tree,” said Claire, Isaac’s mother.
“He is absolutely ecstatic seeing his shelves full of toys and gifts for families he’s dedicated his weekends and spare time to helping is the best Christmas present he could have asked for.”
According to Claire, they had 200 children arrive on the first day of their present bank.
“The response has been phenomenal. We’ll be holding present bank days another three times at this same pub and put on more dates if there’s still the demand,” says Claire. “It has all been quite overwhelming to see. We’ve had baby toys, books, dolls, teddies, Nerf guns, blankets, toiletries, there’s just a bit of everything here.”
“The fifth food bank has been opened alongside the YMCA and the support we’ve had for the present bank has been incredible also.”
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