LOADING ERROR LOADINGWASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - White South Africans coming to the U.S. as refugees could get a biography of President Donald Trump for children as part of a welcome packet proposed last week by an administration official, emails reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump has praised Jackson, a fellow populist, although Jackson has faced historical criticism for owning slaves and driving Native Americans from their lands. “I imagine these books wouldn’t be an issue?” Cooper said in the email, linking to the Trump and Jackson biographies. President Donald Trump speaks at a Hanukkah reception on Dec. 16, 2025 at the White House in Washington, D.C. Peter W. Stevenson/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesThe planned welcome packet, if finalized, would support Trump’s effort to bring thousands of white South Africans to the U.S. as refugees. Cooper also proposed the welcome packet include “The 1776 Report,” published in January 2021 as Trump ended his first term in office.

In his address, Trump said he inherited a “mess” from the previous Democratic administration, assuring viewers he was making progress “fixing” the country’s ills. Many Republican lawmakers have also urged the White House to focus on addressing affordability concerns. AdvertisementTrump’s Oval Office address on the economy comes as health insurance premiums are set to spike for millions of Americans next month. But Trump ignored the expiring Obamacare subsidies in his speech, insisting that Democrats are to blame for the coming premium hikes. He touted instead a website on an initiative lowering prescription drugs, which was originally passed by Democrats under President Joe Biden.

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Photo by Vitali Adutskevich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/christmas-gifts-in-snow-on-mini-cooper-15900210/ Car in snow with Christmas presents on top. According to the road safety experts at RAC, 37.5 million of us will be driving to see friends and family this Christmas season. However, before you rush to get behind the wheel, one Car Care Expert, Katie Newman from Carfume has shared the five car checks every driver should be doing before setting off this festive season. AdvertisementWhat to check before driving on a long journeyCheck your tyre pressuresNewman urges: “Winter roads can be wet, icy and unpredictable. “Ensuring your tyres are properly inflated and have adequate tread is essential before setting off on any long journey this month.

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AdvertisementIn fact, inflation was down to about 3% when Trump took office 11 months ago and was trending downward still. Trump claimed the money would come from tariffs collected from imported goods. AdvertisementDuring his address to the nation on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump repeatedly lied, and accused his predecessor, President Joe Biden, of ruining the country. “This is what the Biden administration allowed to happen to our country, and it can never be allowed to happen again. Typically, when presidents deliver an address from the White House, it is to make the case for a particular policy directly to the American people.

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on Wednesday read from a laundry list of President Donald Trump’s failed promises to deliver a new health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. In remarks on the House floor, McGovern checked Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) moments after she declared that Republicans “have always proposed alternatives” to the ACA framework. Advertisement“But the truth is they’ve always said they have a plan but they’ve never had a plan,” McGovern said. He zoomed through more of Trump’s claims in the years since that a “really terrific,” “great,” “fantastic,” “phenomenal,” “full and complete” health care plan that’d be “so much better” than Obamacare was on the way. All you want to do is undermine health care for hardworking, average Americans.”LMAO McGovern is on fire right now 🔥🔥🔥 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-12-17T15:08:36.513ZAdvertisementOn Wednesday, the House passed a GOP health care bill that didn’t include an extension to soon-to-expire enhanced ACA subsides, legislation the Senate is unlikely to take up.

I think it’s time for us, as a society, to move on from saying Crimbo. Nearly half of Brits agree that ‘Crimbo’ is crapAccording to new data from YouGov, 46% of Brits dislike this word, too, with older people disliking it in particular. However, it isn’t the least popular alternative name for Christmas which goes to, bafflingly, ‘Crimble’. As a lifelong Beatles fan, I’m afraid I do have to denounce this and so do 68% of Brits who dislike or hate the term. We don’t care either way about them apparently with 39-44% neither liking nor disliking either Christmas substitute.

On Wednesday evening, House Republicans voted 216-211 to pass Greene’s bill to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors nationwide, marking the first time a national ban on care for trans youth has reached — and passed — the House floor. Advocates warn that this bill — even if it does not clear the Senate — will still create challenges for transgender youth. Separately, Tennessee also made it a felony last year to travel with a minor out of state to receive gender-affirming care. Greene’s bill is the first time criminal provisions for providing gender-affirming care to minors have advanced on the federal level. Earlier this month, the largest clinic in Northern California shuttered its doors to trans youth, despite California’s constitutional protections for this kind of care.

For five years, 22-year-old Sebbie Hall has carried out an act of kindness every single day – a phenomenal achievement, when you stop and think about it. He’s donated over 5,000 meals to food banks, delivered laptops to children who could not access remote lessons, and funded communication devices for disabled young people so they can learn and connect with others. AdvertisementIn 2022, he and his family set up The Sebbie Hall Kindness Foundation, which provides grants to grassroots organisations that help disabled young adults overcome loneliness and social isolation. In the coming months, Sebbie will also be turning his focus to supporting disabled young adults. His dream is to create assisted living kindness care villages – communities that combine the practical support of assisted living with everyday kindness.

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LOADING ERROR LOADINGJake and Romy Reiner, two of Rob and Michele Reiner’s children, released a statement Wednesday following their parents’ killings. The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. “We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”From left: Jake Reiner, Romy Reiner, Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner attend the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on Jan. 15, 2024, in Los Angeles. According to the Times, a massage therapist contacted her when her parents weren’t answering the door for an appointment. Nick Reiner’s behavior reportedly led him and his father to get into an argument in front of other guests.

LOADING ERROR LOADINGThe Trump administration is moving to dismantle a world-class climate and weather research institution in Colorado, the latest salvo in President Donald Trump’s war on science. Advertisement“The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado,” wrote Vought. Dismantling NCAR would greatly damage America’s ability to predict and respond to severe weather and natural disasters, he noted. John Greim via Getty ImagesAdvertisementAround 800 scientists and support personnel work at the center, which was established in 1960. The Trump administration has attempted to move Peters to federal custody and granted her a pretend pardon last week.