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Trump threatens to take over Panama Canal

President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to take over the Panama Canal unless it cuts the price it charges for ships to pass through the key shipping lane. Trump is also again floating the idea of buying Greenland, which he also suggested during his first term. Kelly O'Grady reports.
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The top five absurd tips from liberal pundits for surviving holidays with Trump-voting family
Liberal outlets offered advice on "Trump-proofing" Christmas, from canceling holidays altogether to awkward scripts for family talks, sparking debate over festive unity.
foxnews.com
Mario Lopez 'not ashamed' of his faith as he builds more 'spiritual muscle' in Hollywood
Mexican American actor Mario Lopez shared with Fox News Digital how he leaned on his faith growing up as a child star in Hollywood.
foxnews.com
Reese Witherspoon tried to make gingerbread house from scratch: 'Epic disaster'
Reese Witherspoon recently said she once tried making her own gingerbread house from scratch, calling the idea an "epic disaster" as it ended up falling apart.
foxnews.com
BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: Logos and love – A meditation for Christmas
St. John’s account of Christmas is austere in the extreme. It comes down to one line: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." What precisely is the “Word" that the evangelist is referencing?
foxnews.com
Bob Dylan Broke Rules. A Complete Unknown Follows Them.
The gift of Bob Dylan’s music is to make the world seem weirder, or rather to reveal the world to be as strange as it really is. He sings of life as a flow of jumbled-up signs and sensations, some real and some not, carrying meaning beyond words. Even at his most strident, he wheezes out an anti-narrative: Thou shalt not simplify, classify, categorize.A Complete Unknown, James Mangold’s biopic focused on the bard’s early career, understands this—and betrays it. The film portrays Dylan as a prophet bringing independence and idiosyncrasy to a world of rule-enforcers and followers. Timothée Chalamet does excellent work striking Dylan’s balance of unworldliness and humanity. Yet no movie about unconventionality should be as blandly conventional as this one is.The problem starts at the level of conception. Mangold has chosen to examine the most chewed-over chapters of Dylan’s career: his early days in the New York City folk scene, beginning in 1961 and leading up to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, when he shocked acoustic-guitar purists by going electric. Newsie cap on his head, Dylan blows into Greenwich Village at the film’s start, gigs around, and quickly wins the admiration of his idols—Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash—as well as of the scene’s rising star, Joan Baez. Rebellion brings acclaim, which brings public expectations, which brings more rebellion: a cycle that’s true to Dylan’s life, but also that of many previous iconoclasts portrayed on film.Mangold knows the rules of biopics well; his 2005 Cash exploration, Walk the Line, set the modern template for how to bend a complex individual’s life into a satisfying arc. Here, the director and his co-writer, Jay Cocks, diverge from the template in one intriguing way. Dylan’s habit of lying and misdirection has made the question of who the man born Robert Zimmerman really is, and why exactly he does what he does, one of music’s enduring mysteries. Rather than try to crack the case with backstory providing psychological cause and effect, A Complete Unknown just lets Dylan be … unknown. When he tells Baez that he used to be a carnie, she exasperatedly replies that he’s full of it. He may well be. But he’s living out an idea that he professes in a key bit of dialogue: To succeed onstage, you have to inspire the same fascination as a freak show.[Read: Bob Dylan reveals himself through 66 songs]Chalamet does just that. He plays Dylan with heavy-lidded stillness, making him seem perpetually on the verge of dozing off, mumbling as if in a dream. The film overflows with performance scenes in which Chalamet captures Dylan’s controlled erraticism, singing in a way that spins folk conventions into a galactic spiral of feeling. The real-life Dylan of the 1960s was a bit lighter and funnier than the solemn figure Chalamet cuts, but his prankster soul flashes through occasionally, such as when he announces himself to be God and then breaks into a grin. And though Dylan himself had some input in the movie, Chalamet doesn’t dull the artist’s cruel edge; at one point, with glassy anger in his eyes, he tells Baez her songs are pretty like paintings in a dentist’s office.Unfortunately, the rest of the movie has that same antiseptic quality that Dylan stood against. New York looks as stagey and cheerful as an amusement park. Dylan’s romance with Sylvie Russo—a fictionalized version of his real-life girlfriend Suze Rotolo, played by Elle Fanning—mostly seems to exist to give trivia about Dylan’s love songs. Historical giants are sketched in 2-D: Ed Norton’s Seeger is a gentle idealist with a hint of cunning; Monica Barbaro’s Baez is all confidence except for when she’s all insecurity. Most irritating are the groan-worthy winks to the audience. “Be careful on that thing!” Seeger admonishes as Dylan rides his motorcycle, a few years before the singer’s career-altering, still-mysterious crash of 1966.Thanks to Chalamet’s performance, the film’s hokiness isn’t totally fatal to the viewing experience. But if A Complete Unknown is Hollywood’s grand, Oscar-baiting summation of Dylan’s legacy, then the implication is sad: Even when trying to celebrate originality, the entertainment industry insists on predictability. The film need not be an art-house riddle—Todd Haynes already took that approach to Dylan in 2007 with I’m Not There—but a shaggier, more naturalistic version would have better suited its subject. The film does convey one true idea, at least: Worshipping an artist is different from listening to what they have to say.
theatlantic.com
The Most Distant Known Galaxy
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Olmsted, S. Carniani, JADES CollaborationDay 25 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: the most distant known galaxy. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have found a record-breaking distant galaxy observed just 290 million years after the Big Bang. In October 2023 and January 2024, an international team of astronomers used Webb to observe galaxies as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) program, obtaining a spectrum of the record-breaking galaxy featured in this image, highlighted by the small square at center, surrounded by an ocean of thousands of other galaxies.Merry Christmas, everyone!See this year’s full advent calendar here.
theatlantic.com
Washington pols trim their ‘Christmas tree’ with outrageous tax-funded goodies
Perhaps Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk can do something about the misspending that has led to an unsustainable $36 trillion debt — but DC is not called "the swamp" for nothing.
nypost.com
The end of the energy war: AI’s insatiable needs put every fuel source in play
AI demands a lot of power. It’s difficult to conceptualize how much electricity AI will need in just a few years.
nypost.com
Reason Dog Was Returned to Shelter Breaks Hearts: 'Please Don't Leave Me'
"What she really wants is a warm lap to cuddle up in this holiday season!" the shelter said.
newsweek.com
Syria’s New Leaders Try to Unite Rebel Factions Under a Single Government
The fighters who ousted Bashar al-Assad are aiming to transform their revolutionary movement and assert control over the country.
nytimes.com
The gift of content: Fox Nation launches new Christmas specials to stream
Celebrate your Christmas Day by streaming new holiday themed specials, including "Broadmoor Christmas," "Welcome to Santa School with Abby Hornacek" and "Lights, Camera, Christmas."
foxnews.com
Psychics predict ‘nothing good’ for 2025 — expect a ‘deeply transformative phase’
The crystal ball is looking bleak. With the countdown for New Year’s upon us, many are turning an eye and a mind to 2025 and whether the future will be bright or blight. As we edge ever closer to 2K25, top seers, soothsayers, astrologers, mediums, and psychics at Psychic World have gathered their top predictions...
nypost.com
Not-So-Silent Night
Depictions of a quiet, peaceful manger scene miss the point of Christmas.
theatlantic.com
A Bob Dylan mega-fan detangles the Timothée Chalamet biopic for us
Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown. | Macall Polay, courtesy of Searchlight Pictures While he may be known for being an iconoclast, Bob Dylan has a public persona — aloof, remote, borderline misanthropic — that doesn’t exactly lend itself to the typical Hollywood treatment. That hasn’t stopped the new Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, from trying. Based on the book Dylan Goes Electric and starring Timothée Chalamet doing his own live singing and performing as Dylan, the film has picked up rave reviews for its performances. But some critics have had misgivings about the film’s many fictional liberties as well as the relatively little context we’re given for the beats of his life — not enough to either satisfy Dylanites or explain what’s happening for Dylan newbs. Why exactly was it such a big deal when Dylan “went electric” — plugging in his guitar and moving away from the folk music he made when he started out? What does his musical and personal legacy mean, and why should audiences care? Fortunately, I found a longtime Dylanhead who was able to fill in many of the gaps for me. Bill DeVille, a 40-year radio industry veteran, DJs near-nightly for Minneapolis public radio station The Current, in the city where Dylan first got his early start before traveling to New York. DeVille walked me through the context I was missing, and waxed rhapsodic about the experience of seeing the film as A Dylan Guy. I may be a Dylan fan now through sheer osmosis. Aja Romano: One of the central tensions of the film is this supposed tension between folk and rock. I know that’s part of the longstanding narrative around Bob Dylan, but when you were watching the film, did you feel like it’s an authentic narrative? Bill DeVille: I think it is. I think his musical love wasn’t necessarily folk music right out of the gate. I think it was blues and rock ‘n’ roll. I don’t want to say rock, because to me, rock is Journey. Rock ‘n’ roll is the real stuff. Fats Domino, Little Richard, Buddy Holly — I think that was the music that he really loved. He discovered Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie and stuff like that, and it took him toward folk. Plus, he didn’t have a band at the time, so it was easy to go out and just busk with your acoustic guitar at the coffee houses in New York. So folk was more of a detour for him. I get that impression. The first gigs he had were under the name Elston Gunn back in the latter ’50s. He was playing in Bobby Vee’s band — he was the piano player. He’s always talked about his love for Little Richard, too. That was his hero, more so or as much as Woody, I would imagine. It sounds as though it was the culture of folk, more than the music itself, that took him on his way. I think there’s some truth to that, but you’re constricted by this timeline. It’s a nifty timeframe, when he rolls out of Minneapolis in 1961 and immediately heads to the Big Apple. In the movie, they said he did it solo, but apparently he did it with a friend. That gets into the tropes the movie’s playing with — a small-town boy goes to the big city, right? Can you set the stage for us in terms of what the actual New York scene was at the time? Well, it was the coffee house scene. It was Dave Van Ronk and Pete Seeger. And Joan Baez was around in that scene, too, and Cisco Houston and some of the old folk guys and Dylan — in the film, it shows him just knocking ’em dead right out of the gate. And Joan Baez saw something — they saw something special in each other, which was pretty cool to see. It just seems like Bob had a handful of songs he was already working on at that point. Plus he was doing a lot of covers back then, too. The first album came out and it was pretty much all covers except for “Song to Woody.” The first time I heard that Bob Dylan song, “Song to Woody,” it made me cry. And man, in that movie, when it’s performed by Timothée, believe it or not, when he sang the song, it was just like, oh my God, this is so good. It sounds so much like Bob. He was very believable. I think people have been really surprised at the authenticity of that performance. I don’t think it’s something people would’ve expected from him. He’s gone the extra mile. At the big rollout red carpet deal, he shows up as Bob Dylan incognito. Yes! That was the New York premiere of A Complete Unknown, where Chalamet cosplayed Dylan’s notorious 2003 fashion at the Sundance premiere of his then-panned movie Masked and Anonymous. He had bangs and a stocking cap on and a scarf and a leather jacket that was pulled straight from Dylan. It was hysterical. He apparently had five and a half years to study the role, because of the pandemic and the strike. I don’t know that he was ever even any kind of a musician, but he sings with authenticity and plays the harmonica and the guitar. All the songs were performed live in the movie, which is pretty incredible too. That’s the draw. Most people are not going to go to this film being like, “I want to know all about this Pete Seeger dynamic. I want to know all about the Newport Folk Festival.” Most people are going to come for the music, and for them to nail that really shows a level of respect. Were there some moments that threw you? Too much fan service? I do feel like you have to approach this film with several layers of Dylan knowledge. I saw it maybe as a bit too much of a fanboy. I was in love with the film. Some of the younger generation, I don’t think, got it. But so much of it is based on things that really did happen. Like Newport Folk, when Pete — they didn’t really get into the cutting of the power too much, but Pete really thought about doing it. He didn’t, obviously, but he considered it. That moment — when Edward Norton as Pete Seeger looks pointedly at an axe during Dylan’s electric set at the Newport Folk Festival — did baffle people. And especially when you look at the commentary for the time, historians are divided on whether his decision to play electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival was actually the controversial thing. When you look at primary sources, some people said that they were booing because the sound was bad and they just couldn’t hear what was happening. That it was not actually about him playing electric. I do think there was a pretty good round [of controversy]. That whole tour of ’65, it seemed in particular — like the person yelling, “Judas!” — that actually happened in [Manchester], England. And they put that in the film too, even though it happened across the pond, not Newport, Rhode Island. But I think there was some truth to the idea that people wanted him to be this folk purist. I think for Dylan that whole thing was a little too precious. He just wanted to rock. Why do you think the film ended on that particular note? I don’t know, but I think it was important. It could have gone either way. I mean, think about it: Bob could have been this legendary folk musician, purist guy, and he could have been twice as popular as Pete Seeger, but he chose not to. I don’t think he wanted to be constrained by the folk thing. The folk canon is good enough, but Bob had all these songs. He wanted to do it his way. He didn’t want to be manipulated, and his way was to play rock ‘n’ roll, I think. He wasn’t an old guy. He was in his really low 20s when he first started busking with his acoustic guitar. And the British invasion was just happening too. I think he saw that rock ‘n’ roll was what was going on, and he wanted to be a part of it. Nobody wants to be pigeonholed or typecast, and he was more than a folk traditionalist. I think the fact people didn’t want him to do it made him want to [play rock music] even more. It spurred him on. And he still continued to play some folk songs, so it wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be. Maybe it was back then, but I never found it to be that big of a deal. It was, “there are two kinds of music, good and bad.” The film positions Pete Seeger in this role of mentor-doppelgänger, almost. When the film opens, Seeger is appearing in court on contempt charges for his conduct before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Then we see Dylan meeting Guthrie and Seeger at Guthrie’s hospital bedside. Though he did meet both artists soon after his arrival in New York, neither of these details is true. I guess it’s about setting Pete Seeger up as a kind of rebel in his own way. He was like the kingpin at the time. Woody was laid up with Huntington’s disease, so he wasn’t well. I think Woody was more of a mentor to him than Pete was, although the film doesn’t necessarily show it like that. Obviously he idolized Woody, but in the film, Pete took care of him, and he stayed at his house a few different nights. Pete didn’t really write songs like Bob Dylan did — that wasn’t his thing. He maintained the folk canon. But I do think that Seeger had a huge admiration for and was sort of a hero to Dylan. Folk was a vital form of resistance at that time, so it makes sense that, character-wise, Dylan would be drawn to that. Yeah — and the [1963 March on] Washington with Joan Baez, that was huge. But you see in [Martin Scorsese’s Dylan documentary] No Direction Home that the press were questioning him like he was some sort of radical, and he really wasn’t very radical. The film treated Johnny Cash as a giant Easter Egg, with Boyd Holbrook playing him as Dylan’s penpal. What did you make of their relationship? [Cash] just spurred him on. He loved it. And that is kind of true, because he took [Dylan] under his wing when he had The Johnny Cash Show back in the late ’60s, after Dylan made the Nashville Skyline album. I think that Johnny Cash had a great, great respect for Bob, and it was mutual. They wrote letters back and forth over the years. I do think that relationship contributed to the film’s commentary about the genre mixing. Especially to younger generations who are coming to see the film — they may not be as familiar with Dylan, but they’re definitely familiar with Johnny Cash’s many rock covers and other genre-mixing, and they’re bringing that context with them into the film. If I’m coming into this film for the first time, what should I know about Dylan’s legacy and influence? You should know that he’s one of the most important songwriters ever. I’d listen to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan and Highway 61 Revisited and Bringing It All Back Home. Those are the three albums that are focused on most in the movie. I couldn’t believe how blown away I was when he sat down in the care center, in front of Woody and Pete, and he did “Song to Woody.” And you realize the importance and significance of him meeting his hero, and how important it was that he found him and was able to play a song for him. I didn’t really expect that. I expected the big moments of the electrified stuff at the end of the film, but it was a touching sweet little moment. I was just so captivated after seeing that that I just loved the whole experience of seeing the film. It didn’t strike you as cocky? It probably was cocky. But I think it took everything he had to muster to do it. And he did it.
vox.com
New York Subway Fire Death: What We Now Know
The NYPD is still working to identify the woman who was set on fire while she slept on the New York City Subway last weekend.
newsweek.com
Pope Calls for Peace on Christmas as Church Begins Jubilee Year Celebrations
Pope Francis’ Christmas message was a plea for reconciliation, peace and care for others.
nytimes.com
It’s way past time to end the left’s ‘perversion of compassion’ and get help for the seriously mentally ill
How many subway incidents will it take for state lawmakers to ditch their perverse "compassion"?
nypost.com
Manhunt for "desperate" murderer who escaped from Mississippi prison
Authorities in Mississippi are searching for Drew Johnson, a convicted killer they say escaped from prison who they say is "desperate."
cbsnews.com
Pope shares Christmas message, marking start of church's Holy Year
Pilgrims lined up to walk through the great Holy Door at the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome as Christmas marks the start of the 2025 Holy Year celebration.
cbsnews.com
Argentinian police set to interview Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy: ‘She wants the right people to be brought to justice’
"She's going to help in any way she can," said a friend of the 25-year-old influencer.
nypost.com
'Landman' Series Makes Scathing Bud Light Joke
The TV show is set in the oil fields of Texas and the latest episode appears to have poked fun at the beer brand.
newsweek.com
Pope Francis addresses Ukraine, Middle East in Christmas Day message: 'May the sound of weapons be silenced'
Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, delivered the "Urbi et Orbi" Christmas message and blessing from the Vatican at noon local time.
foxnews.com
How adorable pooches are helping NYC students boost their confidence
A new breed of educator is helping teach Big Apple kids that anything is paws-sible.
nypost.com
Prince Louis Arrives for Xmas Church Clutching Mom's Hand
Prince Louis looked pleased to have Princess Kate by his side as walked past royal watchers into church on Christmas morning.
newsweek.com
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan headlines Santa Anita opening day on Thursday
Mystik Dan had to make a 1,900-mile van ride to Santa Anita to run in the Malibu Stakes. He's the first Derby winner to race at Santa Anita as a 3-year-old since 1997.
latimes.com
What Happens When Parents Don't Want Their Kids on Social Media?
No social media, no problem? Not necessarily. Two parents weigh in on the challenges of keeping their kids offline.
newsweek.com
Giants rookie Dru Phillips proving he ‘can hang’ among NFL’s elite corners
Phillips is keeping esteemed company as the No. 6-ranked cornerback in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus’ play-by-play grading system.
nypost.com
Knicks vs. Spurs odds, predictions: NBA Christmas Day best bets, picks
The Knicks are big favorites on Christmas Day as they prepare to throw Karl Anthony-Towns opposite Victor Wembanyama.
nypost.com
I’m a therapist — my calming Christmas tree trick will calm your holiday stress
More than a quarter of Americans confess to experiencing more stress than they did at this time last year.
nypost.com
Where To Watch ‘Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade 2024′: Start Time, Channel, Live Stream Info
Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro host this year's Christmas Day event!
nypost.com
What A Complete Unknown Gets Right and Wrong About Bob Dylan
What the Bob Dylan movie 'A Complete Unknown' gets right and wrong about the singer
time.com
Orca Who Carried Dead Calf 1,000 Miles Gives Birth Again
The whale who made headlines for carrying her dead calf for 17 days in 2018 just had a new baby, according to researchers.
newsweek.com
Former All-Star 'Can Get Revenge' on Mets By Signing With Hated NL Rival
Jose Quintana was a crucial part of the New York Mets' success in 2024. Will he pitch against them in 2025 as a member of the Atlanta Braves?
newsweek.com
Major change doesn’t have to wreck your friendships
This story was originally published in The Highlight, Vox’s member-exclusive magazine. To get early access to member-exclusive stories every month, join the Vox Membership program today. One of the earliest declarations of love we’re exposed to is the classic childhood best friend pact. Though we aren’t old enough to sign legally binding documents, a pinky promise is enough of a covenant to stay in each other’s lives, come hell or high water. My grade-school BFF and my promise to each other involved sticking together even in the face of a vicious natural calamity, a flesh-eating virus, or some sort of astronomical phenomenon that wipes out the planet. Although our younger selves foresaw the most ridiculous worst-case scenarios, we failed to take into account the natural ebbs and flows of life. Even the strongest friendships can fall through the cracks due to very normal life transitions, like moving across the country, getting married, or having kids. It’s a common experience for many once-sure-to-be-lifelong friends.  “Every seven years, we lose about half our friends. So our friends are really fragile to loss when we enter these different life stages,” says Marisa Franco, professor, speaker, and author of Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — and Keep — Friends. This is primarily because friendships are established on the basis of commonality: shared experiences, values, or contexts.  It’s why our closest ties stay relatively stable through our elementary school years, then start to fissure as we hit early adolescence — a pattern that continues well into young adulthood. As stated in psychoanalyst Erik Erikson’s theory of human development, this psychosocial stage can trigger feelings of isolation and tear apart even our oldest friendships. Sometimes, these end in messy feuds, others in devastatingly quiet fallouts. It can be easy to compare ourselves to friends who might be in a different life stage than us, especially if they’re the ones reaching traditional life milestones at the age they’re expected to. Female friendship coach and educator Danielle Bayard Jackson says that one of the three main sources of conflict she’s observed in other people is a lack of symmetry. “Symmetry is feelings of reciprocity, balance, and egalitarianism, meaning that we’re equals and we’re both contributing equally [to the relationship],” she says. “But as soon as one party believes that the other person is … totally absent or there’s an imbalance, that’s going to be an issue.” As a result, we might feel estranged from or even resentful of those who graduate with no delays, easily buy a place of their own, or even get to retire on time when we aren’t at that point yet. But if we’re lucky enough to find our people in a world plagued by loneliness, we should be more inclined than ever to keep them. Friendship isn’t a static thing, but it can survive various life stages if we remain committed to mutual love and respect. Recognize what has changed in the relationship The process of getting older has been psychologically proven to alter our behavior, with adults having higher rates of willpower, altruism, and trust. But this doesn’t automatically render us incompatible with people from previous stages of our life.  Before questioning the very foundation of your relationship, pause and reflect on whether it’s your friend’s circumstances (e.g., you no longer stan the same celebrity that brought you together) or their character (e.g., they constantly look down on you after entering into a relationship) that has changed. If they are still the same person at their core that you originally befriended, there’s no reason to believe that the damage is irreparable. And while life might look different for both parties over time, there may still be common ground worth saving. “Often, we’re getting along with someone because of things that transcend life stage,” Franco says. “Like, I can be really vulnerable with this person. They make me feel, seen, heard, validated.”  Be interested in new differences Once we’ve established that our friends are essentially the evolved versions of who we first met and loved, it’s time to reframe how we think of the changes in their lives. “Another thing I would suggest is just really being open to being welcomed into each other’s different worlds … and even inviting each other into them,” Franco advises. This could look like hearing about their child’s latest achievement, attending a work event that’s really important to them, or simply being present during the first stages of a new relationship. “Seeing this as an opportunity for each of you to kind of expand and understand each other more deeply, instead of seeing these differences as a threat to your relationship, I think can be really important,” Franco says. Ashlee Baritugo, a 24-year-old marketing associate, is the only person in her friend group who isn’t in a long-term relationship. “They’re couples but not in a way that makes me feel pathetic around them. … [In our group], it’s really about making sure that we never make anyone feel better or worse for where they are,” she says. Aside from deepening our existing relationships, constantly interacting with those whose circles don’t intersect with ours opens us up to new knowledge, perspectives, and opportunities we might not have been exposed to otherwise. This phenomenon is referred to as relational diversity in our social portfolios, which has been linked to higher levels of well-being. “When I was going through my dating phase earlier this year, [my friends] were really there to listen and they would ask me [questions], entertain me,” Baritugo says. “It’s also interesting to have another perspective on the issue: Taken people will view some things differently.” Communicate expectations One of the most jarring changes faced by those in mixed-stage friendships is not having the same access to each other as before. When a friend achieves a certain milestone, Jackson says, “Sometimes, we’re so scared of looking like we’re jealous, insecure, or envious that we’re dishonest about how we really feel about things changing.” Tamika Smith, a 39-year-old public speaker and entrepreneur, faced this dilemma when she became a mother at 17. “Everything I did from that point on was focused on my baby. I was navigating motherhood, adjusting to this new chapter, forgiving myself, and trying to rediscover who I was,” she tells Vox. “I can count on one hand how many times I let this friend be part of my journey. I shut down and didn’t communicate.” Both parties should be willing to articulate and specify what their preferred form of support looks like. Maybe it’s setting aside the last Saturday of the month for brunch, or FaceTiming first thing in the morning. Just because you’ve been friends for a long time doesn’t mean they can read your mind. Ask each other what it might look like to stay close even through a particular change.  “As an adult, I manage relationships by being open and communicating my feelings,” Smith says. “For example, if I’m overwhelmed, I’ll let my friends know that I might get a bit quiet to focus, but I’m still here if they need me. I support my friends wholeheartedly.” Work on writing a new chapter together Ultimately, some friendships will never go back to the way they were before your paths diverged. “People get discouraged because things aren’t like they used to be. So all we have is the present, and we’re comparing it to the past.” Jackson says. “[You might think] ‘We used to do road trips. We used to stay out on Friday nights. We used to and we can’t do that anymore. I guess this is the end of the friendship.’” However, the present is the perfect canvas to create new memories. These can be activities you wanted to do in the past that you never had the time or resources for, or bonding opportunities that could help you either see each other in a new light or remind yourselves of why you’re chosen family. Remember, these need not be expensive plans, just expansive for your relationship. Regardless of your best efforts, schedules may still shift. “If I value the relationship, I’d have to give us a little bit of grace. How are we going to do our friendship like this? How can I give grace for the fact that she or her rhythm might change?” Jackson says. “And how can I find security in knowing she’ll come back to me? For those who are experiencing a life change, how can I verbalize that as much as possible?”  If only one side is exerting all the effort for prolonged periods of time, there’s no shame in reassessing whether the relationship is worth keeping. “Something that once came with ease now requires mental labor, and that is uncomfortable. The terms and conditions of a friendship have changed, and I have to figure out if I want to adapt,” says Jackson. It’s make-or-break situations like this that allow us to distinguish the purely circumstantial ties from the ones that will stand the test of time. Given our callous culture of hyperindividualism, though, this is much easier said than done. We are often encouraged to cut our losses immediately and are constantly reminded that we don’t owe anything to anyone. But Franco stresses that longstanding friendships are hard to come by. Every chance to save them is worth taking.  “I think there is an importance to staying friends with people that know your history, that know sides of you you’ll never have back, that you’ll only be able to access when you’re around them,” she says. “Even as these shifts happen in our life, it’s really important to try and maintain these connections.”
vox.com
What Happens if You Stop Your Cat From Licking You? Vets Weigh In
"When your cat licks your face, they may see you as a member of their family," vet Nita Vasudevan told Newsweek, but not everyone appreciates this behavior.
newsweek.com
Netflix under pressure with Christmas Day NFL slate after Tyson-Paul streaming debacle
Netflix is under a lot of pressure for Wednesday's NFL Christmas doubleheader after many subscribers had issues watching the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight.
foxnews.com
British Woman Studying in Ohio Shares What 'Shocked' Her Most About America
"Insane" food portions and how plastic is "used for everything" were among the most shocking aspects, the woman told Newsweek.
newsweek.com
D.C.-area forecast and updates: Seasonably cold and calm through Friday, then warming up this weekend
The weekend brings 50s, possibly 60s, and our next chance of rain.
washingtonpost.com
NFL Week 17 picks: Christmas Day doubleheader has playoff implications
The Chiefs are trying to clinch the AFC top seed and the Steelers are trying to keep the AFC North lead over the Ravens, who play the Texans in the nightcap.
latimes.com
'Scrubs' creator says reboot is a 'no-lose' situation: 'I'll deal with the consequences'
Bill Lawrence, riding a career high at 55, opens up about the 'Shrinking' finale, what's next for 'Ted Lasso' and how to fix television's star problem.
latimes.com
The Year of the Podcast: 5 times Trump's podcast interviews sidelined liberal legacy media
Call it the "podcast election." President-elect Donald Trump's interviews with influencers were a key factor that helped him reclaim the presidency.
foxnews.com
NFL stars share favorite Christmas memories amid holiday season
As the NFL season comes to an end, 4 NFL stars broke down their favorite Christmas memories amid the holiday season as they helped give away children's bikes.
foxnews.com
O.C. man stole Legos from an Albertsons, killed woman during high-speed pursuit, prosecutors allege
A Lego theft suspect led Orange County authorities on a high-speed chase. It ended in a fatal crash that killed a bystander.
latimes.com
How iOS 18.2 now lets you share your AirTag's location with anyone
iOS 18.2 lets AirTag owners securely share item locations with trusted individuals. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson examines the powerful new feature.
foxnews.com
Letters to the Editor: L.A. Times' coverage of the bird flu is a great public service
A doctor praises the L.A. Times for its bird flu coverage, which he says helps combat the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
latimes.com
What 'Babygirl' gets right and wrong about kink, according to a sex expert
Warning: The following contains spoilers from the movie "Babygirl."
latimes.com
Ex-boyfriend accused of stabbing 17-year-old Azusa cheerleader to death
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges Tuesday against the ex-boyfriend of a 17-year-old girl who was fatally stabbed last week in Azusa.
latimes.com
Is Donald Trump a NIMBY or a YIMBY? The president-elect's housing views are a puzzle
The president-elect's housing policy is hard to predict, but California could be disproportionately affected by his proposal to open up federal land to development.
latimes.com