'I'm afraid of my son'

A microscopic ‘Christmas tree’ is a seasonal highlight of a remarkable science project that found eerie comparisons between the vast and the tiny. Curated by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the series of pairings reveal stunning connections between the vast universe and the microscopic world that we cannot see with the naked eye. Dubbed “New Perspectives”, […] The post Microscopic ‘Christmas Tree’ is Remarkable Highlight of Science Project Comparing the Vast and Small appeared first on Good News Network.

In a Wall Street Journal interview a few days ago, President Donald Trump was circumspect regarding his party’s prospects in the 2026 congressional elections. Although no one doubts the president’s supreme confidence that he is doing the right things for the country (“I’ve created the greatest economy in history”), he acknowledged “that he couldn’t predict if that would translate into political gains for Republicans next fall.” The party of the sitting president has picked up congressional seats in midterm elections only twice since World War II: Bill Clinton in 1998 and George W. Bush in 2002. And the case of Bush was far from business as usual. The election followed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Patriotism was surging, with Bush’s approval peaking at 90%, and by the 2002 elections, it still was above 60%. Trump’s latest approval rating by Gallup is down to 36%. But the case of President Ronald Reagan shows that, although sticking to principles may create some early turbulence, eventually the right path pays off. Reagan’s approval rating, per Gallup, was down to 36% in the second year of his presidency. Currently, per Gallup, the percent expressing “satisfaction with the way things are going” in the country is 23%. In November 1982, at the time of the midterm elections in Reagan’s first term, satisfaction stood at 24%. In those 1982 elections, Democrats picked up one Senate seat and 26 seats in the House. But by the time of the presidential election two years later, November 1984, Reagan’s approval was over 60% and he won the presidential election in a landslide, capturing 49 of 50 states. The state of the economy when Reagan took office in 1981—double-digit inflation and double-digit interest rates—was decidedly worse than now. However, the overall challenges that Trump faces today are, I believe, greater. Today, federal debt stands at almost 100% of gross domestic product. In 1981, it was less than 25%. In 1980, per Statista, 18.4% of our babies were born to unmarried women. By 2008, it hit 40%, and it has remained steady since. Per USAFacts, in 1980, the percent of U.S. households headed by a married couple was 60.8%. In 2022, this was down to 46.8%. In 1980, the main security threat facing the U.S. was the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was a security threat but not an economic threat. Today, the U.S. faces both Russia under Vladimir Putin and the enormous economic and security threat from China. In addition, we must deal with the ongoing threat of Islamic terrorism. Per the World Bank, U.S. defense spending in 1980, at the time of Reagan’s election, stood at 5.2% of gross domestic product. Reagan got this up to 6.8% by 1982. Per Statista, projected defense spending in 2025 stands at 3.2% of GDP, hovering around a historic low. Social Security and Medicare, our two largest entitlement programs, which together account for some 45% of the federal budget, are broke. Per their trustees, Social Security will have insufficient funds to pay benefits by 2034, and Medicare Hospital Insurance funding will fall short in 2033. The world has changed dramatically since Social Security was signed into law in 1935 and Medicare in 1965. What firm does business today like it did 50-plus years ago? These programs need thorough modernization. Politicians may not want to talk about it. But citizens know there is something wrong. Although the road of change was rocky at first, Reagan’s unwavering commitment to the USA as “the land of the free and home of the brave” won the day. Today we have historically outsized challenges. It’s obvious that America’s socialists—the Democratic Party—is the wrong address. If we are going to have a future, we need bold, courageous leadership today. Republicans are the only address. To our good fortune, we have great leaders like Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Capitol Hill. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Republicans Will Win In 2026 appeared first on The Daily Signal.

NEW: Trump Orders Seizure of Second Tanker Carrying Venezuelan Oil

Well.  There’s no Scrooge-like “Bah! Humbug!” for Newsmax this Christmas.  The conservative TV network has had quite the successful 2025. (And full disclosure, I am a Newsmax contributor.) Here are a few sample headlines from this year. Yahoo/Finance: Newsmax stock soars, pushing market cap north of $20 billion after shocking IPO success  Cleeng: How Newsmax+ Exceeded 150K Subscribers in 30 Days & Retained Over 85%  Forbes: Newsmax Founder Chris Ruddy Is A Billionaire Thanks To Stock Surge The conservative news outlet’s blockbuster public listing on Monday catapulted its founder and CEO, Chris Ruddy, into the billionaire ranks. Newsmax: Newsmax IPO Makes Headlines Across the Globe  Investopedia: Newsmax Stock Has Soared 2,200% In Its First 2 Days Of Trading  Allsides: Banker Elenowitz: Newsmax 'Success' As Public Company Will Continue, Revenues to Grow  And on and on go the headlines on the success of Newsmax splashed across pages of the Internet.  The obvious question is: why? What drives the stunning success of Newsmax? For an answer in this corner, remembering history counts. And that history begins with the late conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr.. As noted in the Sam Tanenhaus weighty and excellent biography Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, when, in 1955, a young Bill Buckley summoned the press to the Overseas Press Club in New York to “announce the birth of National Review” magazine, Buckley distributed a press release which said, in part, that NR’s mission:  …was ‘to change the nation’s political and intellectual climate—which, at present, is predominantly leftist.’ The magazine would argue that ‘appeasing the Soviet Union is suicidal,’ and that the Eisenhower administration had been guilty of exactly such appeasement for the past year and a half. For the first time, these arguments would be made in a publication liberals themselves would be obligated to read—an important first step in the conservative revolution. The conservative revolution was indeed launched. Notably in the media. Four years before Buckley began National Review, the evolution of talk radio, led by conservative commentator and radio host Paul Harvey, had begun. From 1951 until his retirement in 2008, Harvey was at the forefront of a media industry that would produce conservative radio giants like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glen Beck and numerous local conservative radio shows across the country.  Flash ahead to 2014, as the 21st century is underway. And founder Chris Ruddy launches Newsmax TV, with 35 million subscribers through Direct TV and Dish Network. Today the network has expanded by the millions, becoming a major force in both the larger media generally and the conservative media specifically. As the headlines above illustrate vividly, the network has become a resounding success, a decided competitor to Fox News and a media force in its own right. It has become a “go to” for news junkies and  a massive conservative audience. As 2025 winds down, 2026 - an election year - begins to dawn. And without doubt as the campaign heats up, as it will without doubt, Newsmax will be very much at the center of the national media as the ups and downs and ins and outs of the election unfold. Not to mention as the presidential election of 2028 starts to glimmer in the distance. And among others, NewsBusters own Tim Graham, the Executive Editor of NewsBusters, along with NewsBusters Managing Editor Curtis Houck will be on Newsmax providing analysis of the craziness heated election years always bring. So as Christmas approaches, now mere days away and followed quickly by the New Year, Newsmax with its cast of anchors, reporters, commentators and behind the scenes staff, is  without doubt, ready for 2026 and whatever may come down the road that merits serious media attention.  Tune in. The election circus is getting ready to start. With Newsmax, after a blockbuster 2025,  being front and center and ready to cover 2026. Merry Christmas!

An unhinged female was caught on video absolutely pummeling a male employee at a Planet Fitness in Florida last week.The attack took place Dec. 12 at the gym on SW 8th Avenue, the City of Miami Police Department told WFOR-TV.'She took things too far, brutally battered our client, and ultimately left him in the hospital with a broken nose and severe emotional distress.'The female is seen on cellphone video climbing over the front counter of the Planet Fitness in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, getting in a male worker's face, and then socking him so hard in the face that the punch is audible on the clip. You can view WFOR's video report — which includes video of the attack — here.She ends up throwing what appear to be eight more punches; no one intervenes, and the male employee doesn't fight back.It apparently all started when the male employee told the female gym member to lower her voice or he'd call the police, according to a police report seen on WPLG-TV's video breakdown of the incident. She was reportedly making a scene in a locker room. With that, the female "became irate," balled her fists, and got in the male employee's face — but the male pushed her away with both hands twice "in self-defense," the arrest report says.That's when the cellphone clip of the physical attack begins.RELATED: Woman arrested for allegedly punching two NYPD officers during 'mostly peaceful' Tyre Nichols protest — and she's reportedly released without bail Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images"She took things too far, brutally battered our client, and ultimately left him in the hospital with a broken nose and severe emotional distress," Alecsander Kohn, the victim's attorney, told WFOR.The female — identified as 35-year-old Kiara Bryant — also was seen on video in the gym's parking lot trying to leave after the incident, WFOR noted. But she was soon arrested and charged with battery and disorderly conduct, the station said, adding that the victim's attorney said he's hoping the district attorney's office will consider additional charges."This would be a case of felony battery," Kohn added to WFOR. "Hopefully, through some strong advocacy, there will be a modification of the charges to reflect the severity of the injuries he sustained."Planet Fitness issued the following statement to the station: "The safety of our employees and members is our top priority, and we have zero tolerance for violence of any kind in our clubs. We are committed to providing a safe environment. The franchise group worked closely with local police and have canceled the member in question."The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department told Blaze News that Bryant was booked into jail on the afternoon of Dec. 12 and bonded out early in the morning of Dec. 13.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

One California Target shopper has clearly been lacking in Christmas spirit this season — as the disgruntled woman pulled out her phone to record herself harassing an elderly Target worker over the shirt she was wearing.The shopper, whom online sleuths discovered to be employed by Enloe Health, asked the worker why she was wearing a red shirt that read “Freedom” with Charlie Kirk’s name underneath. In the video that she recorded and posted on her TikTok herself, she accuses the woman of supporting a “racist.”“Are you f**king stupid?” the customer asked, while the employee, acting nonchalant, calmly responded, “That’s your opinion, ma’am.”“Imagine harassing this woman and posting it on your TikTok account like you’re the good guy in this situation. I mean, imagine that,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales reacts, shocked.Gonzales dug up a little more dirt on the Target shopper, and what she found was disturbing.The shopper, whose name is Michelea Ponce, is no stranger to political posts. In one Facebook post, she proudly shared her husband and daughter making fun of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.“But there is good news out of this situation,” Gonzales explains.The Target employee has been identified as “Jeanie” in a GiveSendGo crowdfund, which has surpassed its $200,000 goal.“It’s like God works in mysterious ways because Cassandra McDonald, who was kind of on top of this fundraiser, she spoke with Jeanie and she said Monday, the day the fundraiser was launched for her, was the 12th anniversary of her husband’s death by suicide after a long battle with illness and oncoming dementia,” Gonzales explains.“And she now works to raise awareness of suicide prevention options. And by the way, she said she might not even ... use the money to go on vacation, because she loves everyone she works with. The Target is standing behind her,” she continues.“She just sounds like just the sweetest lady who didn’t deserve that,” she adds.Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Clinton Spox (Hillary, Is That You?) Says Latest Batch of Epstein Pics Are NOT About Bill

New: Coast Guard Snags Second Sanctioned Ship Off Venezuela

If you've got an older Android tablet sitting around collecting dust, it may be better to put it to use. Here's how to turn it into a digital picture frame.