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Daily Readings from the USCCBSolemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God The Octave Day of the Nativity of the LordThe shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Luke 2:16–19 At the birth of Christ, the Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart was full of love and...

The New Year festivities in the Netherlands left two people dead, saw 'unprecedented' violence against police and destroyed a 19th century Amsterdam church. A 17-year-old boy from Nijmegen and a 38-year-old man from Aalsmeer were killed in fireworks accidents. Three others were left seriously injured. One person has been arrested in connection to the teenager's death, but authorities have not yet revealed any information on the suspect's identity and an investigation is ongoing.

From Wikimedia Commons: Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Viktor Vasnetsov, 1887). Predictably, human nature remains constant across the centuries, driven by the same primal impulses—ambition, fear, greed, and tribal loyalty—that fuel conflict and upheaval. These enduring drives and emotions ensure that humanity cannot permanently exorcise evil; it persists, resurfacing in ever-shifting forms. In the twentieth century, Western civilization teetered on the brink of annihilation, barely surviving the twin horrors of Nazism and Bolshevism. These ideologies, shrouded in propaganda myths about “race” and “class”, respectively, unleashed unprecedented destruction, claiming tens of millions of lives and threatening the very foundations of liberal...

An iconic church in Amsterdam has been partially destroyed after a fire ripped through its spire in the early hours of New Year's Day. The Vondelkerk, which sits just next to the Dutch capital's famous Vondelpark, collapsed in on itself as 2026 celebrations unfolded. The blaze is thought to have started just after midnight, and was soon declared a major fire and a regional emergency. By 2.30am local time, the inferno was still raging - with authorities warning locals about the heavy smoke. The blaze went on to cut off the electricity of almost 100 nearby homes. Dramatic images from...

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

A total of 41,472 migrants arrived in the UK in 2025 after crossing the English Channel – the second highest annual figure on record. The Home Office confirmed on Thursday that no migrants made the journey on New Year’s Eve, continuing a run of no crossings over the festive period. It means the overall number of arrivals last year finished 9% below the all-time high of 45,774 in 2022. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to “smash the gangs” had been “a complete disaster” and the “one in, one out” deal with France is a “farce”....

China's EV Car Bubble is Finally Bursting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG-eJDtySU8 186,000 Views Living in China for 14 years, one thing I noticed about China is that China is wasteful. I'm talking from the top to the very bottom. Everybody is guilty of being wasteful in China. It's part of Chinese society. If you go out for a meal with friends, you order a huge amount and there's always leftovers that just get thrown away. Especially if you're trying to show off, this is part of what you do. If you're a government official, you're going to have every single dish in the...

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(1/1/26)[Prayer]A New Study For A New YearGenesis 2:77 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.________________________

The Washington state attorney general released a statement on X Tuesday evening warning independent journalists to stop investigating fraudulent Somali daycare centers or they could be charged with a hate crime. “My office has received outreach from members of the Somali community after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking,” State AG Nick Brown stated. “We are in touch with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding the claims being pushed online and the harassment reported by daycare providers. Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t...

President Donald Trump railed against alleged social services fraud in Minnesota during remarks at his New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday. "Can you imagine they stole $18 billion," Trump said. "That's just what we're learning about. That's peanuts. And California is worse, Illinois is worse and sadly New York is worse." Trump continued, "We're going to get to the bottom of all those. It was a giant scam."

The Trump administration has ended the lease agreement for three public golf courses in Washington, a move that offers President Donald Trump an additional opportunity to put his stamp on another piece of the nation’s capital. The National Links Trust, the nonprofit that has operated Washington’s three public courses on federal land for the last five years, said Wednesday that the Department of the Interior had terminated its 50-year lease agreement. The Interior Department said it was terminating the lease because the nonprofit had not implemented required capital improvements and failed to meet the terms of the lease. While it...

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1). God is more interested in your faithfulness than He is in your accomplishments. Our society is success oriented. We love success stories. We even have television programs that exalt the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But God's standard for success is quite different. Unimpressed by our status or wealth, He looks instead for faithfulness to His will. Paul understood that principle and diligently pursued his calling as an apostle—one of those unique...

Around 40 revelers were killed and another 100 injured, most of them seriously, after an explosion ripped through a packed bar in a Swiss Alps resort town during a New Year’s celebration, officials said. The deadly blaze erupted around 1:30 a.m. at the Le Constellation bar in the ritzy ski resort town of Crans-Montana in the Valais Canton. While the cause of the fire remains unclear, it appears to have been an accident. Witnesses believe the explosion was triggered by sparklers being held too close to the ceiling, which set the roof on fire, according to reports. “At the moment...

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What does the future hold? Let’s turn back the clock to the end of a year over a century ago. Posting this article has become an annual tradition ever since the grim end of 2012. It’s a reminder that the end of each year ushers in unknowns, but also opportunities for heroism. History does not stand still, and we should never assume that we know how it will come out. The next year sweeps around the earth like the hand of a clock, from Australia to Europe and across the great stretch of the Atlantic it rides the darkness to...

As grand jury investigations begin, the alleged wrongdoers may find that a criminal court finds them guilty as charged. American Thinker readers are familiar with the criminal conspiracy or coup to unseat a duly elected president. John Solomon of Just the News just let the cat out of the bag with his breaking interview about ...a “slam dunk” conspiracy case to prosecute former federal agents and prosecutors for election meddling for relentlessly pursuing Donald Trump for political purposes... Solomon has validated my investigative reporting since 2019. I contend that the acts of the Democratic Party, Deep State, New World Order/WEF...

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On June 23, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a decision in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. Prior to the Bruen decision, Courts of Appeal in Progressive-dominated Circuits, such as the Ninth and Second circuits, had refused to honor Second Amendment precedent established in the Heller and McDonald decisions. Bruen admonished the lower courts for creating a procedure to treat the Second Amendment as a second-class right. Bruen created a simple test to determine if a statute was allowed by the Second Amendment. The Bruen case clarified that “bear” in the “right to...

A deep dive into the ancient, go-to idea that God uses Islam to punish those who go astray:

Andy Cohen unleashed a wild rant about outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams that left Anderson Cooper visibly cringing live on CNN. Cohen and Cooper, who have been co-hosting CNN's New Year's Eve special for the past nine years, were putting away drinks for hours and bantering live during the network's coverage of the celebrations in New York City. Soon after the ball dropped in Times Square, Cohen, with a drink in his hand, said: 'Watching the final moments of Mayor Adams's chaotic...' Before he could finish his thought, Cooper interrupted and said: 'Oh no. I'm out.' Cohen continued,...