The Trump administration will lay out its construction plan for the new White House ballroom at a planning commission meeting next month.
Why it matters: The "information presentation" is the first step of the National Capital Planning Commission's review process, and it will be the first time commissioners get to question the president's controversial plans after bulldozing the East Wing.
President Trump plans several big announcements on Gaza in early January, but the next steps hinge on his meeting on Monday at Mar-a-Lago with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Why it matters: White House officials think Netanyahu is slow-walking the peace process, and fear he will resume the war with Hamas. But while the Israeli prime minister is butting heads with Trump's team, he hopes to bring the president himself over to his more hawkish point of view, a senior Israeli official said.
The U.S. is undergoing its fastest religious shift in modern history, marked by a rapid increase in the religiously unaffiliated and numerous church closures nationwide.
Why it matters: The great unchurching of America comes as identity and reality are increasingly shaped by non-institutional spiritual sources — YouTube mystics, TikTok tarot, digital skeptics, folk saints and AI-generated prayer bots.
The U.S. military "launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS" in Nigeria's northwest on Christmas Day following the targeting of Christians in the West African country, President Trump announced Thursday.
The big picture: U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on X it "conducted strikes against ISIS terrorists in Nigeria" in Sokoto State on Thursday at the direction of the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, "and in coordination with Nigerian authorities."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a "very good" Christmas Day call with Trump advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, per a post to X Thursday that Kushner reposted.
The big picture: Zelensky, President Trump's son-in-law Kushner and Witkoff discussed "new ideas in terms of formats, meetings, and, of course, timing on how to bring a real peace closer," the Ukrainian leader said in a video address to his nation later Thursday that was posted to his social media channels.
Jimmy Kimmel used his Christmas Day message to U.K. viewers Thursday to declare victory for free speech over President Trump's calls to cancel his talk show.
The big picture: British public broadcaster Channel 4 selects a high-profile figure to deliver an alternative to the British monarch's annual Christmas message — and Kimmel admitted in his that he has "no idea" what's going on in the U.K. but said "tyranny is booming" in the U.S., per a transcript published online.
Nineteen states and D.C. sued Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his health department to block the Trump administration's plan to curb young people's gender-affirming care.
Why it matters: Kennedy announced last week he would stop Medicare and Medicaid payments to any provider offering gender-affirming care to minors, a move the Oregon-led lawsuit says "exceeds the Secretary's authority and violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Medicare and Medicaid statutes."
Photo illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios; Photos: Kypros/Getty Images, Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Over a million more potential Epstein documents have been handed over to the Department of Justice for review and possible release, the DOJ said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The announcement mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve comes as the DOJ faces scrutiny for not releasing all records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before a Dec. 19 congressionally mandated deadline that President Trump signed into law.
President Trump discussed with kids Wednesday Santa Claus' Christmas Eve journey being followed through the North American Aerospace Defense Command's (NORAD) tracking program during calls that were peppered with joviality and banter.
The big picture: First lady Melania Trump also took part in the calls from their home in Palm Beach, Florida, which helped kick off the NORAD Santa-tracking tradition that's now in its 70th year. Less traditional were some of the president's comments to the children during the calls.
