Tom Hanks spilled the details on the Christmas gift he said he gets every year from superstar Tom Cruise and said both his family and entire staff looks for it to arrive in the mail starting after Thanksgiving.
During the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tom-hanks">66-year-old</a> actor&#8217;s recent appearance on the YouTube show &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxSyov0Hjz8">Mythical Kitchen</a>.&#8221; the superstar actor revealed to the host that the gift from the &#8220;Top Gun&#8221; star would be part of his ultimate &#8220;last meal.&#8221;
&#8220;And my last meal would be challah bread French toast with Carey&#8217;s sugar free syrup, an In-N-Out double double with a Diet Coke,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-hanks-says-hes-made-only-four-pretty-good-movies-during-his-entire-career">Hanks</a> explained as he went on listing several other items before sharing that he would top it all off with a white chocolate coconut bundt cake.
&#8220;This cake is so great,&#8221; he added. &#8220;You can really only have it once a year. Which works out perfectly because I don&#8217;t order it. It arrives as a gift at Christmas.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Tom Hanks Eats His Last Meal" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xxSyov0Hjz8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;Now, I&#8217;m gonna drop a name now, and I don&#8217;t want you to go berserk, but this is a big name,&#8221; Hanks continued. &#8220;Not everybody gets this white chocolate coconut bundt cake. This is a Christmas gift that we get every year from Tom Cruise.&#8221;
The &#8220;Forrest Gump&#8221; star said he&#8217;s not the only one who eagerly waits for the cake to arrive, but the entire staff at his production studio does as well.
&#8220;Now, what&#8217;s interesting is the folks now at the office, the Playtone World headquarters around, starting about Thanksgiving, they start eyeing the, you know, &#8216;what mail has come in today,'&#8221; the superstar actor shared. &#8220;You know, &#8216;is the big box coming in&#8217;? Are we getting what is essentially being called the Tom Cruise cake? Because this is just off the scale, fantastic.&#8221;
The &#8220;Cast Away&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-didnt-let-tim-allen-tom-hanks-says-he-didnt-understand-why-chris-evans-replaced-allen-as-buzz-for-lightyear">star</a> said the staffers start out with big slices of the cake after it arrives, but over time the slices get smaller and smaller as everyone tries to make the cake last as long as possible.
&#8220;As time goes by, we realize these, the days are numbered on the survival of this cake,&#8221; Hanks shared. &#8220;So everybody starts slicing thinner and thinner slices, you know, and it&#8217;s a mathematical proof that you just keep cutting everything in half. You will never run out of Tom Cruise cake.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rita-wilson-says-slowing-down-her-movie-career-to-raise-her-kids-wasnt-a-sacrifice-but-a-choice">Rita Wilson Says &#8216;Slowing Down&#8217; Her Movie Career To Raise Her Kids Wasn&#8217;t &#8216;A Sacrifice&#8217; &#8216;But A Choice&#8217;</a>

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks Spills Details On The Christmas Gift He Gets Every Year From Tom Cruise

Celebrities

Christmas

Entertainment

Hollywood

Tom Cruise

Record spending during the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">holiday</a> season coincided with many American households making expenditures using record amounts of debt.
Though a slightly lower proportion of Americans took on holiday debt at the end of last year, the average amount of debt among those who spent beyond their means rose to $1,549, marking a 24% increase from the previous year, according to a <a href="https://www.lendingtree.com/credit-cards/study/holiday-debt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from LendingTree. The percentage of debtors who expect to take five months or more to pay off their debt rose from 28% to 37%.
“A year ago, this survey showed the first decrease in average holiday debt since tracking began in 2015,” the online lending marketplace said. “However, following a year of rising prices, seven interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve to drive credit card interest rates to record levels and overall economic uncertainty, a second-straight decrease wasn’t in the cards. Instead, we got the biggest dollar increase in the eight-year history of this report.”
Parents with minor children, those earning between $50,000 and $100,000, and millennials between the ages of 26 and 41 were the most likely to use debt to finance their holiday spending. Although most Americans still financed their holiday consumer debt through credit cards, the portion of households borrowing from friends and family surged.
News of record debt among some shoppers came after a shopping season that appears to have exceeded previous years. Some 196.7 million Americans shopped online and in person during the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, according to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thanksgiving-weekend-holiday-shopping-shatters-expectations-despite-economic-headwinds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> released by the National Retail Federation, shattering the trade association’s initial projection of 166.3 million shoppers during the first weekend of the season. The organization had previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rise-in-holiday-spending-to-be-outpaced-by-inflation-forecast-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forecasted</a> that holiday spending would grow between 6% and 8% from the previous year even as inflationary pressures eroded the purchasing power of households.
“While consumers are feeling the pressure of inflation and higher prices, and while there is continued stratification with consumer spending and behavior among households at different income levels, consumers remain resilient and continue to engage in commerce,” National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay said in a <a href="https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-predicts-healthy-holiday-sales-consumers-navigate-economic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “In the face of these challenges, many households will supplement spending with savings and credit to provide a cushion and result in a positive holiday season.”
Households have been increasingly reliant upon debt amid elevated price pressures. The total level of consumer loans increased from $1.5 trillion at the beginning of President Joe Biden’s tenure to $1.8 trillion as of two months ago, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CONSUMER" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Federal Reserve. The personal savings rate has dropped from 20% to less than 3% over the same period, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, marking a significant decline from rates witnessed before the lockdown-induced recession.
The global economy has experienced lackluster performance since public health mandates ended across the world. Most analysts believe this year will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/big-short-investor-who-foresaw-2008-recession-lays-out-predictions-for-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">see a recession</a> in the United States, a reality that would follow one of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stocks-had-their-worst-year-since-2008-after-biden-boasted-about-their-performance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worst stock market</a> performances in modern history last year, while some are more optimistic. Bank of America Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett said in a <a href="https://business.bofa.com/en-us/content/year-ahead-2023/investment-market-outlook-forecasts.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> that a recession will strike in the first half of the year before markets attain a “much more solid footing,” while an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economists-predict-whether-2023-will-see-a-recession" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outlook</a> from Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius noted that analysts at the company believe the economy will “stick a soft landing.”

Old fashion gag gift, a Christmas Stocking full of coal

Some Consumers Financed Holiday Spending With Record Amounts Of Debt

Record Amounts Of Holiday Debt Accompanied Christmas Cheer

Economy

Inflation

Recession

U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to observe Orthodox Christmas on January 6-7.
The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on the later date to mark the birth of Jesus Christ based on the Julian calendar, which predates the Gregorian calendar used in Catholic and Protestant traditions. About 100 million people are considered members of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has clashed with broader Eastern Orthodox authorities in recent days.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, top of the Russian Orthodox Church, called for Russians and Ukrainians to observe a Christmas truce prior to the Kremlin&#8217;s announcement.
&#8220;Given the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine from 12:00 on January 6 to 24:00 on January 7,&#8221; a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/putin-orders-temporary-ceasefire-ukraine-observation-orthodox-christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu read, according to Russian media outlet RIA.
The announcement follows calls from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a unilateral ceasefire in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Erdogan reportedly held separate phone calls on Thursday with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky mentioned the call with Erdogan on Twitter, calling for &#8220;no invaders&#8221; in Ukraine.
&#8220;Spoke with [Turkish] President @RTErdogan. Discussed security cooperation, in particular ZNPP, there should be no invaders there, the exchange of prisoners of war, the grain agreement development. Glad to hear that [Turkey] is ready to participate in the implementation of our #PeaceFormula,&#8221; he tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Spoke with 🇹🇷 President <a href="https://twitter.com/RTErdogan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RTErdogan</a>. Discussed security cooperation, in particular ZNPP, there should be no invaders there, the exchange of prisoners of war, the grain agreement development. Glad to hear that 🇹🇷 is ready to participate in the implementation of our <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PeaceFormula?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PeaceFormula</a>.
&mdash; Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1611016084898910209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Russia also acknowledged a Thursday phone call between Erdogan and Putin. The Kremlin stated that Putin &#8220;acknowledged the destructive role of the West, pumping weapons into Kyiv, providing information and guidance.&#8221; Russia&#8217;s president claimed he is ready for dialogue but argued that Ukraine must acknowledge &#8220;new territorial realities,&#8221; <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230105-live-russia-s-patriarch-kirill-calls-for-orthodox-christmas-ceasefire-in-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> France 24.
The temporary Christmas ceasefire comes after more than 10 months since Putin&#8217;s military forces invaded Ukraine on February 24. More than 7.9 million refugees have since been displaced across Europe, <a href="https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> data from the United Nations.
The number includes 2.8 million Ukrainians displaced within Russia. Poland is the nation that has received the second-largest number of refugees, with more than 1.5 million recorded as of January 3.
No verified numbers exist of the number of deaths in Ukraine and Russia since the start of Putin&#8217;s invasion. In November, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley estimated that 240,000 people had died in the conflict.
The unverified total included an estimated 100,000 Russian soldiers, 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers, and 40,000 civilians, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63580372" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.

Putin

Putin Calls For Temporary Christmas Ceasefire In Ukraine

Global Politics

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

World

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/southwest-airlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southwest Airlines</a> provided customers affected by rampant <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/air-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flight</a> cancellations during the recent <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">holiday</a> season with frequent flyer points, a benefit that will accompany reimbursements for canceled flights.
The company, which announced plans to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/southwest-says-it-will-resume-normal-operations-on-friday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resume normal operations</a> beginning on December 30, canceled roughly two-thirds of flights during the busy Christmas travel season, even after severe winter weather conditions that impacted the United States had subsided and other carriers had ceased canceling an abnormal number of flights.
CNN correspondent Pete Muntean obtained a <a href="https://twitter.com/petemuntean/status/1610367787851206656" target="_blank" rel="noopener">message</a> from Southwest announcing that customers whose flights were canceled or delayed for more than three hours had received 25,000 reward points, equivalent to approximately $300 in value. “Southwest experienced a unique combination of events that started with severe weather at our busiest airports and transitioned into other operational challenges,” the message read. “This caused unprecedented wide-scale cancellations and ultimately impacted your trip.”
It was not clear whether all Southwest customers will receive exactly 25,000 reward points. The company said that the handouts would accompany reimbursements and are meant as a “gesture of goodwill.” The points can be used on “any available seat” and “never expire.”
Share prices for Southwest, which also plans to reimburse flyers for meals, hotel accommodations, rental cars, and tickets purchased with other carriers, dropped 3% on Tuesday as executives implemented the efforts to win back dissatisfied customers. The firm’s stock has plummeted more than 17% over the past month.
Southwest uses a point-to-point route model that offers faster flights to residents of smaller cities rather than the hub model used by larger airlines, according to an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/travel/southwest-airlines-flight-cancellations.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from The New York Times. One disadvantage to the former model is a lower availability of excess crew members in those smaller cities, leading to disruptions across the entire carefully managed network when flights are canceled or fail to arrive on time.
The company said in a Tuesday <a href="https://swamedia.com/releases/release-7e05ea1637937dc7354128bee7b619f8-southwests-recent-weekend-performance-and-continued-customer-outreach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that officials “intend nearly all baggage delayed during the recent holiday travel week to be shipped or delivered by midweek.” The statement confirmed that affected customers would receive rewards points. “In the new year, the urgent work continues on planned improvements to processes and systems that will bolster the ability of Southwest to recover effectively in large-scale disruptions of our operational plans.”
Southwest Airlines Pilots Association President Capt. Casey Murray contended during an <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/southwest-airlines-pilots-association-cancelations-airline-not-prepared" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Fox Business that the delays and cancellations could have been prevented. “Unfortunately, this has been a decade in the making. We have sounded alarm bells, we have tried to get them to change processes,” he remarked. “It’s a combination of processes, outdated technology, and infrastructure.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called the “level of disruption” experienced by customers “unacceptable” in a <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-12/Message%20from%20Secretary%20Buttigieg%20to%20Southwest%20Airlines%20CEO%20Bob%20Jordan_12.29.22.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Southwest CEO Bob Jordan, and said his agency would use “the fullest extent of its investigative and enforcement powers” to guarantee reimbursements. Lawmakers such as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bernie-sanders-ro-khanna-tear-into-pete-buttigieg-over-southwest-airlines-fiasco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> the official for neglecting to implement reforms they had previously suggested.
Sanders noted in a June <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Flight-Delays-Letter-Final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> that the airline industry received $54 billion in relief during the lockdown-induced recession and asked Buttigieg to make airlines “promptly refund passengers for flights that have been delayed over an hour,” as well as impose fines for “flights that are delayed more than two hours” and for “scheduling flights that they are unable to properly staff.”

Holiday travel woes for Southwest Airline passengers.

Southwest Gives Disgruntled Customers Frequent Flyer Points In Aftermath Of Holiday Meltdown

Southwest Gives Customers Frequent Flyer Points

Air Travel

Severe Weather

Southwest Airlines

A medical practice in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/united-kingdom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Kingdom</a> accidentally told potentially thousands of its patients they had “aggressive lung cancer” two days before <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christmas</a>.
Askern Medical Practice in Doncaster sent a text message to its patients on the Friday before Christmas Eve telling each they had “aggressive lung cancer with metastases,” as well as sending them a link to a DS1500, a form that terminally ill people can fill out to receive certain benefits, according to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-64116668" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC</a>.
“Please accept our sincere apologies for the previous text message. This has been sent in error. Our message to you should have read We wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year,” the medical practice sent in a follow-up message. Both messages are believed to have been received by the practice’s nearly 8,000 patients.
Chris Reed was one patient who received that text and who was also awaiting lung cancer test results. He said the first message sent his partner into tears. He said he tried calling the doctor’s office, but could not get through the clogged phone lines.
“They went from, ‘You’ve got lung cancer’ to ‘Merry Christmas’ in about an hour. Unbelievable,” Reed told <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/29/gp-patients-aggressive-lung-cancer-diagnosis-text-mistake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Telegraph</a>.
Sarah Hargreaves said she broke down after receiving the initial text. Hargreaves was waiting to hear back on tests being run on a mole removed from her back.
Hargreaves “felt sick to my teeth and broke down” when she received the mistaken diagnosis text, she told the BBC. “I had just had a mole removed and was awaiting a result from a biopsy and I had been to hospital as my smear test came back abnormal, so yes, I was very worried.”
Carl Chegwin told <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/29/1146070117/a-u-k-medical-office-mistakenly-sent-patients-a-text-message-with-a-cancer-diagn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NPR</a> that he and his mother were two of the patients to receive the texts. He said after realizing that multiple people had received the text, he began to wonder if it was “some sort of sick joke.” He said he would no longer be visiting Askern Medical Practice.
“It completely took me by surprise,” Chegwin told the BBC. “They’ve just told people a few days before Christmas they’ve got terminal lung cancer. They can’t do that.”
“What if the message was meant for someone, and then they are told it’s a Christmas message, then again told, ‘oh no, that was actually meant for you,’” he added. “If it’s one of their admins that&#8217;s sent out a mass text, I wouldn’t be trusting them to empty the bins.”

Merry Christmas

‘Some Sort Of Sick Joke’: U.K. Medical Center’s Christmas Message To Patients Goes Disastrously Wrong

Cancer

Health

United Kingdom

A New Jersey <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/parents">mom</a> has some theories about why her 5-year-old daughter thought it was acceptable to open every <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christmas">Christmas</a> gift in the house before anyone else woke up.
Jessica Ciraulo posted the original clip on TikTok December 25, saying her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/children">daughter</a> &#8220;woke up and opened every single present in the house,&#8221; including &#8220;her sister&#8217;s, my husband&#8217;s, and mine.&#8221; The video quickly started racking up views. 
&#8220;You want to talk about a major parenting fail,&#8221; the 42-year-old mom said in the now-deleted video, indicating a mountain of strewn wrapping paper and boxes all over the floor.
&#8220;I was so looking forward to, like, a magical Christmas morning. I spent three hours wrapping these presents,&#8221; Ciraulo continued. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t get to watch her open a single present.&#8221;
“What are we doing wrong here that our daughter would think this is okay??&#8221; she asked in the video caption, saying she was &#8220;open to suggestions.&#8221;
TikTok users came out in force with their opinions. 
&#8220;This is so not a parenting fail. You cannot control your kid&#8217;s actions even if you try. You&#8217;re likely a good momma with all that effort. Don&#8217;t sweat it,&#8221; one popular comment says.
&#8220;Honestly mama, sit her down, and then explain what she did, why you&#8217;re hurt by it and ask her why she did it,&#8221; another person suggested.
&#8220;Every day this app confirms my decision to never have kids,&#8221; a third person observed.
Some people messaged Ciraulo, she told <a href="https://www.insider.com/tiktok-parenting-fail-criticism-christmas-gifts-viral-video-2022-12">Insider</a>, saying the video was exploiting her daughter. &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t &#8216;shaming&#8217; her in my video, though, and I would never do that publicly or privately. That is just not the way we parent,&#8221; she told the publication.
In a follow-up <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jessicaciraulo/video/7181310494635085099">video</a>, the mom said she decided to donate some of the toys as punishment. She also claimed her daughter wasn’t a &#8220;bad kid&#8221; but &#8220;lacks impulse control&#8221; and “made a bad decision” partly because of the &#8220;amount of time that she spends on her tablet and some of the things she&#8217;s learning there.&#8221;
Ciraulo told Insider that the behavior prompted her to take the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/technology">tablet</a> away as her daughter was spending up to five hours per day using it. “She’s not getting it back, maybe ever,” she explains.
&#8220;It was teaching her to be competitive and materialistic in an unhealthy way,&#8221; Ciraulo continued. &#8220;She would also watch a lot of YouTube videos of other kids playing those games, and that was reinforcing those concepts.&#8221;
She also confirmed that her daughter knew she was supposed to wake her parents up before opening the gifts.

Christmas Mess!

Mom Blames Tablets, ‘Impulse Control’ When 5-Year-Old Daughter Opened All The Christmas Gifts Before Parents Woke Up In Viral TikTok

Mom Blames Tablets, 'Impulse Control' When 5-Year-Old Daughter Opened All The Christmas Gifts Before Parents Woke Up In Viral TikTok

New Jersey

Parenting

Technology

Travelers returning from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christmas</a> excursions were stranded across the country as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/southwest-airlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Southwest Airlines</a> canceled more than two-thirds of its <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/air-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flights</a>, drawing the attention of government officials.
Southwest nixed 2,909 flights on Monday, accounting for 71% of the company’s volume, according to <a href="https://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/yesterday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from FlightAware, far surpassing other major carriers. Southwest also canceled 2,536 flights on Tuesday and 2,474 flights scheduled for Wednesday, representing 63% and 61% of its flights, respectively.
“We had a tough day today. In all likelihood we’ll have another tough day tomorrow as we work our way out of this,” Chief Executive Bob Jordan said in an <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/southwests-troubles-mount-as-airline-scraps-more-than-half-its-flights-11672084678?mod=djemalertNEWS" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with the Wall Street Journal on Monday evening. “This is the largest scale event that I’ve ever seen.”
Southwest Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Green told the outlet that the airline would reimburse stranded passengers who were forced to stay in hotels, rent cars, or purchase tickets with another carrier. Customers whose flights were disrupted can receive refunds.
The Department of Transportation <a href="https://twitter.com/USDOT/status/1607558478859759616" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Monday that the agency will “examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan,” while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryPete/status/1607605739371233280" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that he is tracking the situation “closely.” Airlines are <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/flight-delays-cancellations#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20States%2C%20airlines,a%20flight%20that%20is%20oversold." target="_blank" rel="noopener">not required</a> to compensate passengers for delayed or canceled flights unless passengers are bumped from an oversold flight.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines respectively canceled 9% and 5% of flights on Monday, as well as 1% and 2% of flights on Tuesday, according to FlightAware.
The cancellations occurred after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/massive-snowstorm-expected-to-impact-christmas-travel-nationwide-airlines-brace-for-cancellations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">severe winter weather</a>, including subzero temperatures and heavy snowfalls, impacted travel across the United States during the holiday weekend. As many as 54 million passengers were expected to depart from airports between December 18 and January 3, marking a 20% increase from last year, according to <a href="https://media.hopper.com/research/christmas-2022-holiday-outlook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from Hopper.
Southwest, which is headquartered in Dallas, attributed the canceled flights to the poor weather conditions. “We were fully staffed and prepared for the approaching holiday weekend when the severe weather swept across the continent,” the company said in a <a href="https://swamedia.com/releases/release-7e05ea1637937dc7354128bee7527c20-winterstormelliott" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “These operational conditions forced daily changes to our flight schedule at a volume and magnitude that still has the tools our teams use to recover the airline operating at capacity.”
Thousands of flights were also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/christmas-frightmare-continues-thousands-of-flight-cancellations-driven-by-omicron-and-bad-weather" target="_blank" rel="noopener">canceled</a> last Christmas as a result of COVID outbreaks among crew members. Hundreds of flights entering or leaving the United States were canceled on Christmas Day alone, while thousands of additional flights were delayed.
Ahead of this year’s holiday travel, airlines posted <a href="https://www.united.com/ual/en/US/fly/travel/notices.html#northamerica-waivers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extensive lists</a> of cities from which they expect flights to be disrupted as a result of winter weather, including Chicago, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee. Several companies waived fees for customers who rebook their flights within certain time frames.
The most popular destinations for Christmas travel included New York City, Los Angeles, Orlando, Dallas, and Atlanta, according to Hopper. Domestic roundtrip airfare prices for Christmas are currently averaging $339, marking an 11% decrease from 2019 and a 15% decrease from 2021.
Winter weather also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/over-one-million-homes-and-businesses-without-power-as-winter-storm-sweeps-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">caused</a> more than one million American homes and businesses to lose power, especially along the East Coast. Major delivery services such as FedEx and Amazon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/amazon-fedex-post-office-warn-of-delivery-delays-as-winter-weather-persists" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> of delays for last-minute Christmas packages.

Southwest Air Cancellations Move Into Fourth Day With 10% Parked

Thousands Stranded As Southwest Cancels Two-Thirds Of Post-Christmas Flights

Government Looking Into Southwest Canceling More Than Two-Thirds Of Post-Christmas Flights

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/police" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Police</a> in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/indiana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana</a> saved Christmas for one family whose holiday cheer was ruined by a &#8220;true-life Grinch.&#8221;
The South Bend Police Department responded to a breaking and entering report on Christmas Eve morning. A burglar had taken food from the refrigerator and all the family&#8217;s Christmas presents, leaving nothing for the children to open on Christmas. The police responded to the call, then showed up with armfuls of gifts and food to replace the items the thief had stolen.
The SBPD <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SouthBendPD/videos/2410185085795485/">posted</a> a video of the officers to the Department&#8217;s Facebook page. &#8220;Earlier today, day shift officers responded to a Breaking &amp; Entering complaint at a home in South Bend,&#8221; the Department wrote. &#8220;After talking to the homeowner, officers learned that Christmas gifts had been taken, leaving the children with nothing for the holidays. Fortunately, officers were able to get in touch with the organizers of the South Bend FOP Lodge #36 Santa’s Elficers program, who advised they had some leftover gifts to share. Officers then came back to the residence with several boxes of Christmas presents and food for the family. This is what serving our community is all about.&#8221;
In the video, the officers invite the children to come into the room, where a bunch of toys are placed under a small Christmas tree. Two children see the presents and run to the pile, laughing and jumping up and down in fits of excitement. A mother holding a third child also enters the room and gasps when she sees the toys. &#8220;Oh my goodness,&#8221; the mother exclaims, telling her children to tell the officers &#8220;thank you,&#8221; before thanking the officers herself. The children smile and present their new gifts to the officers in delight.
In an interview with local news station <a href="https://www.wndu.com/2022/12/25/how-south-bend-pd-saved-christmas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WNDU</a>, the officers compared the thief to a real-life version of Dr. Seuss&#8217;s &#8220;The Grinch,&#8221; and explained how and why they replaced the stolen items. “They found out that the house had been burglarized, and in the process, the individual had taken all the gifts and even some food out of their refrigerator,” Patrolman Brian Meador told the outlet. “So, they really left this family with nothing much at all.”
“True-life Grinch,” Meador added. &#8220;Yep, cleaned them out. Not even the Who-hash or the Roast Beast (was left). It was all taken.”
Meador works with the &#8220;Santa&#8217;s Elficers&#8221; food and toy drive, which had already delivered toys to more than 400 local families and food to dozens more. The officers who responded to the scene of the crime reached out to him. “They asked if we had anything extra, and we keep items here at the station for just an instance like this,” he said.
“And when you see the kids, this morning I was able to go out and deliver the food and the gifts, and to see those little girl’s faces when they saw the presents under the tree and started playing with them, that’s why we do what we do,” Meador said. “That’s the positive part, and that’s what keeps us going as officers. And so, I hope it’s a memory for them that’ll last a lifetime. Maybe someday, they’ll be in a position to give back.”

Police siren off – stock photoPolice siren off – stock photo

After ‘True-Life Grinch’ Steals Indiana Family’s Food And Presents, Police Save Christmas With Donations

South Bend, Indiana Police Save Christmas For Family Robbed By 'True-Life Grinch' With Donated Food And Presents 

Charity

General

Indiana

Police

The already embattled city of Jackson, Mississippi issued another boil water notice to residents as a dangerous winter storm swept across the country this week.
In a public announcement on Christmas Day, city officials in Jackson urged residents to boil city water because of low water pressure in the city&#8217;s pipes. Officials attributed the pressure losses to breaks in water lines caused by frigid temperatures from a winter storm that blanketed 37 U.S. states between Wednesday and Sunday. Jackson&#8217;s water system has been the center of attention this year after mismanagement produced multiple water crises.
&#8220;Due to the loss of system pressure, the City of Jackson Water/Sewer Utilities Division has issued a precautionary boil water advisory until further notice for ALL SURFACE WATER CONNECTIONS,&#8221; the city said in a <a href="https://www.jacksonms.gov/citywide-boil-water-advisory/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> Sunday. &#8220;This advisory includes surface water connections in Byram and Hinds County. The system has lost pressure due to breaks in the distribution system that have not been identified. Some areas may be experiencing little to no water pressure. The O.B. Curtis and J.H. Fewell Water Treatment Plants will continue to work to maximize production to restore pressure to as much of the system as possible.&#8221;
“Please check your businesses and churches for leaks and broken pipes, as these add up tremendously and only worsen the problem,” the city said in a separate statement, via the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-jackson-climate-and-environment-fece87363c92bd5e14e085d0065b1dae" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. “We understand the timing is terrible.”
Temperatures in Jackson dropped into the teens and 20s this week. According to <a href="https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/b16e2af7d0ba76bdfe3bebe958f7cf77965d79fa2e58bc0956a47be2d72a4c78" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The WeatherChannel</a>, the low temperature on Thursday night was 11 degrees. Temperatures on Friday ranged from a high of just 23 to a low of 15. On Saturday, the high reached just 33, with a low of 17. The rapid freeze was part of a &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/once-in-a-generation-winter-storm-expected-to-affect-most-of-u-s-midwest-likely-to-be-hardest-hit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">once in a generation</a>&#8221; winter storm that swept most of the country, from the mountain West to the Great Lakes and the Midwest, to Appalachia, and up through New England, this week.
The city reported fluctuating water pressure all weekend. According to AP, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-jackson-climate-and-environment-ff0010d637a33679e2de5cb8bd94f9c0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">production slowed</a> at one of the water treatment plants in the city because of water line leaks and breaks. Some neighborhoods said they had little or no water pressure on Christmas Eve, the outlet reported.
The latest failure comes months after the water system in Jackson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mississippi-water-crisis-drags-into-fifth-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed</a> because of flooding of the Pearl River in August. Multiple water pumps at the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant failed after severe storms caused the Pearl River to flood, prompting low water pressure and a risk of bacterial infection, a press release from the Mississippi Department of Health explained at the time.
Jackson’s water supply has faced multiple interruptions over the past several decades. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of noncompliance to city leadership for not “repairing and maintaining equipment necessary to reliably produce drinking water.”
Residents of Jackson filed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jackson-mississippi-residents-file-lawsuit-against-city-over-water-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">class-action suit</a> against the city in September, arguing that the August failure of the water system was the result of decades of mismanagement and neglect by city officials and engineers. The water system failure led to residents lacking water to drink or cook with, as well as do household cleaning and laundry, or even use the toilet, the suit alleged. The residents further claimed that the remaining water supply was tainted, and did not meet up to federal standards.
Ben Zeisloft contributed to this report.

Jackson water crisis

Jackson, Mississippi Issues Christmas Boil Order After Water Lines Break In Freezing Temperatures

Jackson, Mississippi Issues Another Boil Order After Water Lines Break In Freezing Temperatures

Drinking Water

Mississippi

Actress Lacey Chabert made it clear that she was standing by the Hallmark Channel after former network star Candace Cameron Bure left to pursue a relationship with competing channel Great American Family.
Bure, who made a number of Christmas movies and starred in a mystery-movie franchise at Hallmark, announced the surprise move in early 2022. She later explained that the change in leadership at Hallmark had factored into her decision — as did her personal faith and her desire to keep telling stories with traditional marriage at the center of the story.
The &#8220;Fuller House&#8221; star&#8217;s comments drew backlash from a number of people, ranging from long-time co-star <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/candace-cameron-bure-unfollows-jodie-sweetin-as-she-backs-jojo-siwa-in-traditional-marriage-controversy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jodie Sweetin</a> to &#8220;One Tree Hill&#8221; and former Hallmark actress <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/make-your-money-honey-one-tree-hill-actress-slams-candace-cameron-bure-over-marriage-comments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hilarie Burton Morgan</a>. Actor Neal Bledsoe, who had also made the move to Great American Family, <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/my-choice-is-clear-great-american-family-actor-exits-stage-left-over-candace-cameron-bure-marriage-comments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abruptly cut ties</a> with the network in the wake of Bure&#8217;s comments.
Chabert, who took over some of the Christmas promotional duties in Bure&#8217;s absence, defended Hallmark. Saying that she had &#8220;found a real home&#8221; with the channel, Chabert explained in a recent <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/lacey-chabert-interview-hallmark-christmas-movies.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Vulture: &#8220;I’m able to be more of who I am here than possibly anywhere else I’ve worked.&#8221;
&#8220;Any shift I’ve felt has been embracing our creative ideas,&#8221; Chabert said, responding to Bure&#8217;s claim that the change in leadership at Hallmark had made the network a very different place. &#8220;And it’s my responsibility to the audience who continue to tune into my movies that I give the best I have to offer. That’s always my mission. I’ll never abandon what Hallmark means for me, which is that everything is centered around the heart. I don’t think there are any plans for that to change anytime soon.&#8221;
The &#8220;Mean Girls&#8221; alum refused to go any further, however, explaining that she bore no ill will toward the actors and actresses who had chosen to leave the Hallmark Channel.
&#8220;You know what, I wish everybody the best. I really can’t comment on it further other than I care about everybody involved,&#8221; she said.
Chabert has appeared in some 30 movies during her tenure with the Hallmark Channel and doesn&#8217;t appear to be slowing down any time soon.

Celebrities Visit Hallmark Channel’s “Home & Family”

‘Mean Girls’ Actress Defends Hallmark After Candace Cameron Bure Exit: ‘Everything Is Centered Around The Heart’

'Mean Girls' Actress Defends Hallmark After Candace Cameron Bure Exit: 'Everything Is Centered Around The Heart'

Candace Cameron Bure

Hallmark

Over 15,000 homes were without power on Christmas Day after vandals damaged four substations in Washington State.
The attacks began at 2:30 a.m. Pacific Time Sunday, according to Puget Sound Energy. Three attacks occurred during the early morning hours, with a fourth incident later reported on Christmas night.
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“It is unknown if there are any motives or if this was a coordinated attack on the power systems,” according to a statement from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, KUOW-TV <a href="https://www.kuow.org/stories/three-electrical-substations-attacked-xmas-morning-in-pierce-county" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
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<div class="story-content">
Sgt. Darren Moss of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department disputed calling the incidents “attacks.”
“There&#8217;s nothing that we have found yet that says this is a terrorist attack,” Moss said.
“At this point, we believe their goal was to shut down the power. The reasons for that, we don&#8217;t know yet,” he said.
The first attack to cut off power in Puyallup County that occurred at 2:30 a.m. was restored by about 5 a.m. The second incident happened at about 5:12 a.m. and appears to be the same person or group of people.
The report stated that the locks at the two first substations had been cut to gain entry. The fence was cut through in the third incident. The method of access in the fourth incident was not mentioned.
The substations reportedly have chain-link fences and cameras at each location. The investigation is ongoing and no suspects have yet been identified or arrested.
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The attack is not the only recent incident on power substations in the area. Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Puget Sound Energy, and the Cowlitz County Public Utility District confirmed their substations were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/authorities-report-five-electricity-substations-targeted-in-pacific-northwest-days-after-north-carolina-attacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attacked</a> in November, the Seattle Times <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/pse-substations-among-five-attacked-in-pacific-northwest-in-november/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
BPA spokesman Douglas Johnson said there was a “deliberate physical attack” at a substation in Clackamas, Oregon, over the Thanksgiving holiday as someone ut a fence and damaged equipment in an attack.
“BPA is actively cooperating with the FBI on this incident and has encouraged other utilities throughout the region to increase their vigilance and report any suspicious or similar activity to law enforcement,” Johnson added.
It is uncertain whether the past attacks are related to the latest incidents on Christmas Day.
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/intentional-attack-takes-down-power-for-40k-people-in-north-carolina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that vandalism was responsible for a substation attack that took down power for over 40,000 people in early December.
Local authorities investigate the incident in Moore County &#8212; approximately 70 miles southwest of Raleigh — as a criminal act.
“Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields reports that the mass power outage across the county is being investigated as a criminal occurrence,” the Moore County Sheriff Department’s Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MCSheriffOffice/posts/pfbid0g5iWaV6DrimDxiMhb9oQ4qcNqUJsxsSKP9ycWDG84DxbXQnKhNUmHCKeMYCzypd1l">post</a> said.
“Just after 7 pm on Saturday evening, December 3, 2022, several different communities across Moore County began experiencing power outages,” it added. “As utility companies began responding to the different substations, evidence was discovered that indicated that intentional vandalism had occurred at multiple sites.”
The incidents have also come as the Department of Homeland Security has warned of threats to the nation&#8217;s electrical infrastructure in recent years. The Homeland Security &#8220;National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin&#8221; issued last month <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/publication/national-terrorism-advisory-system-bulletin-november-30-2022-translations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that people with personal grievances &#8220;continue to pose a persistent and lethal threat to the Homeland.&#8221;

power substation

Substation Attacks Leave 15K Washington Homes Without Power On Christmas

Crime

Washington

Renowned astro-physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson delivered an unsolicited science lesson on Christmas Eve, using his own research to &#8220;prove&#8221; that Santa Claus&#8217; holiday delivery schedule was an impossibility.
Tyson explained in a couple of tweets why Santa could not possibly make it to billions of homes all around the globe in the span of just 24 hours.
&#8220;After extensive research, I&#8217;ve concluded that for Santa to deliver presents to the billions of homes that celebrate Christmas, and to do so in one continuous night across 24 time zones, he &amp; his reindeer must open wormholes through the fabric of spacetime between each delivery,&#8221; he tweeted.
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After extensive research, I&#39;ve concluded that for Santa to deliver presents to the billions of homes that celebrate Christmas, and to do so in one continuous night across 24 time zones, he &amp; his reindeer must open wormholes through the fabric of spacetime between each delivery.
&mdash; Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) <a href="https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1606786528407158784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Tyson went on to explain just how many homes per second Santa would have to visit in order to reach every family who celebrated the holiday, adding, &#8220;In case you were wondering, for Santa, in a single 24-hr Earth-night, to deliver presents to all those who celebrate Christmas, he must visit 25,000 homes per second.&#8221;
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In case you were wondering, for Santa, in a single 24-hr Earth-night, to deliver presents to all those who celebrate Christmas, he must visit 25,000 homes per second.
&mdash; Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) <a href="https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1606787493428346880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Critics were not impressed with Tyson&#8217;s lesson, however. One <a href="https://twitter.com/aginnt/status/1606881806351241217" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it &#8220;wins for the most unfun Christmas tweet of all time.&#8221;
&#8220;Got the same 24 hours Santa got and using your time to tweet this smh,&#8221; another <a href="https://twitter.com/yc/status/1606903147552976896" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
Tyson wasn&#8217;t quite finished, however, and he followed up with one more tweet reminding the people who were offended by the religious undertones of the &#8220;Merry Christmas&#8221; greeting that &#8220;Happy Holidays&#8221; might not be quite as atheist as they thought.
&#8220;Just to affirm that whoever says Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, is using a word that etymologically derives from &#8216;Holy Days,'&#8221; he said.
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Just to affirm that whoever says Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, is using a word that etymologically derives from “Holy Days”.
&mdash; Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) <a href="https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/1606789323000512512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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It wasn&#8217;t the first time that Tyson <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/neil-degrinch-tyson-astrophysicist-neil-degrasse-tyson-dragged-for-sucking-the-magic-out-of-christmas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used science</a> to throw cold water on Christmas magic, either. In 2021, his Christmas tweets argued that Santa could not possibly live at the North Pole. &#8220;Since the Northern Arctic is just ocean, Santa’s North Pole workshop has only ever existed on a floating sheet of ice.&#8221;
Tyson also suggested that families should help the rotund Christmas gifter to get his weight under control, calling on them to leave &#8220;carrots, celery, &amp; hot tea for Santa on the table instead of milk &amp; cookies.&#8221;
In 2020, Tyson took issue with <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/neil-degrasse-tyson-santa-doesnt-know-zoology-rudolph-was-misgendered/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Santa again</a> — claiming that the jolly old elf had misgendered his own most famous reindeer. &#8220;Santa doesn’t know Zoology: Both male &amp; female Reindeer grow antlers. But all male Reindeer lose their antlers in the late fall, well-before Christmas. So Santa’s reindeer, which all sport antlers, are therefore all female, which means Rudolf has been misgendered.&#8221;

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