Dec 25, 2017

1 big thing: The miracle of Christmas

Photo: Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP / Getty Images

This photo was taken today in the West Bank city of Nablus (30 miles north of Jerusalem), where tires burned just three days ago as protesting Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops.

It's a reminder of the two-word miracle of Christmas, regardless of your faith: Everything stops.

It's been a year of public turmoil, and most of us can't do anything about that. But we can try to put a period on our private turmoil, and begin a new paragraph. Imagine the effect on the people around us.

As the red-vested minister our family heard last night in snowy Oregon put it on his 33rd Christmas Eve at the same church: What's done from this year is done. Put it behind you.

Today, we get the great gift of a clean slate. This year, we'll be better, so the year will be better.

ABC's Jonathan Karl, guest-hosting "This Week" yesterday, ended with a tone and a pledge that I hope will resonate with you:

I want to close with a personal note. This past week, we lost one of this show's most loyal viewers — a towering influence on me, and a man who dedicated his life to helping others. My father, Wayne F. Karl. My dad ran an auto body shop. He loved baseball, NASCAR, gardening, country music, and absolutely anything involving his children and grandchildren.

For more than a half century, he was a volunteer firefighter. For the first 10 years of my life, he was a fire chief. Some years ago, our hometown named him the Citizen of the Year, actually proclaiming a Wayne Karl Day. ...

Thank you, Dad. I love you. And I will never stop thinking about you.

And to all of you, a merry Christmas.

Go deeper

Axios

Coronavirus updates: First case in sub-Saharan Africa confirmed

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

Nigeria confirmed its first novel coronavirus case in an Italian who flew to Lagos from Milan — the first known case in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization has been working to prepare Africa's health care systems to be ready for the outbreak, which is now also confirmed in Algeria and Egypt.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,850 people and infected over 83,700 others in some 50 countries and territories. The novel coronavirus is now affecting every continent but Antarctica, and the WHO said Wednesday the number of new cases reported outside China has exceeded those inside the country for the first time.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Health

Sara Fischer

Ad spending on 2020 primary tops $1 billion

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Spending on the 2020 presidential primary has officially surpassed the $1 billion mark, with more than half of that total coming from billionaire Michael Bloomberg, according to data from Advertising Analytics.

Why it matters: It's the most money that has been spent this early on in an election cycle in U.S. history.

Go deeper2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Dion Rabouin

The growing coronavirus recession threat

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

In just a matter of weeks, top economists and investment bank analysts have gone from expecting the coronavirus outbreak to have minimal impact on the U.S. economy to warning that an outright recession may be on the horizon.

What's happening: The spread of confirmed coronavirus cases in Europe, the Middle East and the U.S., and the speed at which they are being discovered has set the table for the outbreak to have a larger and much costlier impact.

Go deeper3 hours ago - Economy & Business