For us parents, leaving our children at college is so incredibly hard. As much as we want them to fly, keeping the chicks close to us in the nest feels so much more comfortable. But for many, college is a rite of passage they want to experience and is a welcome blessing. But what about everyone else at home? If you have multiple children, there’s no doubt they feel the same void when their sibling is gone. Joanna Gaines shared the sweetest moment when her daughter, Ella, returned home from school. Grab a tissue, you’ll need it. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Joanna Gaines (@joannagaines) Joanna Gaines Raised Some Very Sweet Kids As a mother of five, Joanna Gaines has had a lot to juggle as an uber-successful entrepreneur. But with the help of her husband, Chip Gaines, they’ve raised a very close and loving family. Joanna shared the moment Ella returned home from college for Christmas break. It wasn’t mom, dad, or the family dog who ran to greet her. No, her bestie baby brother, Crew, couldn’t wait to get out the door and hug his sister. Ella quickly scooped the 7-year-old crew up in her arms and went inside for a much-needed family visit. Joanna Gaines shared the video on Instagram with the simple caption, “Home for Christmas.” Fans fell in love with the Gaines family all over again after watching the precious clip. “Okay not me sobbing at this sweetie little video,” one wrote. “Mine came home for winter break & I LOVE it!!! The kids were laughing in their room the other day & my husband says to me “well there’s a sound we haven’t heard in a while”. I nearly burst into tears,” another college parent wrote. This mom knew just how Joanna Gaines felt seeing Ella home for Christmas. “Absolutely love this. What a beautiful moment you captured! I am the youngest and can totally feel his excitement when sister gets home,” she wrote. This story’s featured image is by Christopher Willard/Disney via Getty Images.

'We're calling it the 'Ricochet Rule''

Beam’em up, Scotty

Both The New York Times and The Washington Post uncorked their alarm on the front page on Friday when the Trump administration declared it would ban federal funding from any hospital that provides gender-denying care to minors. The Post headline was “Trans care for minors targeted.” The Times headline was “U.S. to Halt Care for Trans Youth.” The surprise here was neither of these stories used the Orwellian term “gender-affirming care” in their left-tilting dispatches. “Gender transition care” or “gender-related care” were the replacements. The Times story – penned by Azeen Ghorayshi, Amy Harmon, and Reed Abelson – was more panicked. “The administration’s action is not just a regulatory shift but the latest signal that the federal government does not recognize even the existence of people whose gender identity does not align with their sex at birth.” The E-word erupts again later: Thursday’s announcement follows the clear road map set out by Mr. Trump in executive orders issued in his first days in office that denied the very existence of transgender people. “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the president wrote. That’s not denying the existence of people – it’s denying their delusions. The Times quoted from three leftist groups – the ACLU, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Movement Advancement Project, without a label, but they squealed about an “ultraconservative Republican majority” in Congress willing to back Trump. The Post story by Paige Winfield Cunningham did the same, citing the ACLU and the HRC without a label. They were simply "LGBTQ+ advocates." But she warned “Conservatives and some former transition care providers have charged that young people questioning their gender identity are being given sometimes-irreversible interventions too quickly.” Using “care” as the antonym of “transition” draws quote marks: “Assistant Secretary for Health Brian Christine, who before his appointment called for transgender youth to undergo “corrective care” instead of transitioning…” The Post online story used the phrase “transition care” 13 times, including twice in the headline block. The Washington Times put this story on page A-6 on Friday under this headline: "HHS moves to cut funds to hospitals offering 'sex-rejecting' care to minors." HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used the term "sex-rejecting," which is much more accurate than "gender-affirming."

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Ancient Astronomical Alignments: Reading and Mapping the Stars at Early Advanced Civilization Sites Many of the cuneiform tablets of Mesopotamia and hieroglyphs of Egypt make reference to the sun, stars, or planetary positions. Also, a number of ancient structures in many parts of the world are aligned with, or directly oriented toward, the cardinal points (East, North, South, and West) or celestial objects. Walter Cruttenden 21 December, 2025 - 20:42 Section News History Ancient Traditions

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., warned against using the U.S. military to force regime change in Venezuela, adding, "if you break it, you buy it."