If you were worried the dead zone between Christmas and New Year’s didn’t have quite enough aggressively-unnecessary holidays, congratulations: today is Falling Needles Family Fest Day, an internet-invented occasion where you’re supposed to turn the emotional collapse of your Christmas tree into “family fun.” Suggested activities include recycling it, feeding birds, creating a fish condo, or dancing barefoot around it like a Hallmark movie. No tree? Shame a friend, an ex, or a relative you already resent into participating.
Now, let’s get to the news!
CIA Drone Strike Signals a Dangerous Escalation in Venezuela: The US has crossed a new line in Venezuela: a CIA drone strike on a port facility—reported as the first publicly-known US attack inside Venezuelan territory. And it’s happening alongside a widening campaign of lethal “drug war” strikes at sea. US officials told CNN the CIA hit a remote dock on Venezuela’s coast last week—an escalation inside the country itself. That same week, US Southern Command announced another strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific that killed two people—without providing evidence of trafficking.
Since early September, the Pentagon says it has carried out 30 attacks on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 107 people. The ramp-up tracks with the Trump administration’s military buildup in the region as it intensifies pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump has publicly touted the Venezuela strike without evidence. “There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” he said, insisting the target “is no longer around.”
Trump’s Gaza “Peace Plan” is Disarm or Be Wiped Out: At his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday, Donald Trump used his sit-down with international war-crimes fugitive Benjamin Netanyahu to issue an explicit threat to Hamas: disarm—fast—or “there’ll be hell to pay.” Trump said he wants to move to “phase two” of the Gaza ceasefire agreement “as quickly as we can,” but only if Hamas disarms, claiming they’d get “a very short period of time” to do it. He also suggested that countries backing the deal were prepared to “go in and wipe them out” if Hamas doesn’t comply. The threat lands as Israel continues attacking Gaza daily throughout the supposed ceasefire, and as Trump signaled support for Israel launching new attacks on Iran, echoing Netanyahu’s claim that Iran is rebuilding its nuclear facilities.
Artists Continue Bailing on Renamed Kennedy Center: The Kennedy Center’s rebrand into the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts” is doing what vanity projects do best: driving people away. Artists are canceling shows in protest, calling it an ego-driven takeover of a public cultural institution. Jazz group The Cookers pulled their New Year’s Eve performances, saying they won’t be part of anything that “deepens divisions.” Doug Varone and Dancers canceled their dates, saying they can’t ask audiences to enter “this once great institution” after Trump renamed it after himself. Folk singer-songwriter Kristy Lee called the move part of a broader authoritarian impulse to “ban, erase, rename, or rebrand” history. Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell dismissed the cancellations as “derangement syndrome,” accusing the previous leadership of booking “far left political activists,” which is actually a pretty fun way to describe jazz musicians and modern dancers.
Call Him Monsieur Clooney: George Clooney and his family are now officially French citizens, because even movie stars look at America these days and say, “non.” France granted citizenship to Clooney, his wife Amal, and their kids, who’ve been living there to escape Hollywood’s paparazzi-industrial complex. Clooney says France offers something truly luxurious: privacy, normal childhoods, and kids who do chores instead of branding deals. Local officials describe the Clooneys as low-key neighbors, which may be the most unbelievable part of this entire story.
Thief Returns Stolen Mandolins Due to Viral Shaming: A guy brazenly stuffed two mandolins into his jacket at a New Jersey vintage guitar shop, got caught on camera, and immediately underestimated both security cameras and the internet. After the owner posted the footage and it went wildly viral, the thief apparently experienced a Christmas miracle of conscience and returned the instruments four days later with a note that read like a chaotic apology text: “Sorry I’ve been drunk. Merry Christmas.” Cops may still press charges, but the shop says the online pile-on clearly did its job.
Oregon’s Immigration Arrests Surge: South on I-5, Oregon has gone from barely being on ICE’s radar to ground zero for Trump’s immigration crackdown. They’ve arrested at least 1,100 people in 2025, up from just 113 in all of 2024. The surge hit hardest in the summer and fall, putting Oregon among the top five states for year-over-year increases and making clear this is about hitting numbers, not public safety. Despite ICE’s tough-on-crime framing, only about a third of those arrested had criminal convictions, meaning most were just living their lives until quotas showed up at their door.
Father Released From ICE Custody But Not Free: A Puyallup father walked out of an immigration detention just before Christmas and into his family’s arms after more than two months behind bars, then clipped on an ankle monitor as the price of being home. Julian “Vicente” Ortiz Velazquez had been arrested by ICE outside a Lowe’s in November, part of the aforementioned Trump administration’s push to boost arrest numbers by targeting big-box parking lots. He has no criminal history and was actively pursuing legal status, yet was detained for weeks after doing little more than buying lumber. It’s a terrifying reminder that in this system, doing nothing wrong is not a defense.
Voters Said Climate. Ferguson Heard “Optional”: Washington Governor Bob Ferguson wants to plug a budget hole by rerouting more than $500 million meant for clean energy, transit, and climate resilience into an existing tax credit. The move raids Climate Commitment Act funds voters just defended at the ballot box, prompting environmental groups to call it an unprecedented sweep of money meant to cut pollution, not patch spreadsheets. Ferguson says it wasn’t his first, second, or third choice. But it was apparently the “uh-oh, we’re out of options” choice. The proposal now heads to the legislature, where it’s expected to get the “so you do know what climate money is for, right?” treatment.
Speaking of Climate Change: Washington is on pace for its warmest December ever, beating a record that was set just last year. Temperatures are averaging nearly 46 degrees, even as La Niña was supposed to deliver a colder winter. Instead, a parade of atmospheric rivers dumped massive rain, causing flooding while simultaneously rescuing the state from severe drought. Experts say a slow, boring drizzle would’ve been ideal, but instead, our state got chaos with few benefits.
Man Accused of Courthouse Assault Found Competent to Stand Trial: The man accused of a violent, random attack on a 75-year-old woman outside the King County Courthouse in Pioneer Square earlier this month has pleaded not guilty after the court ruled he’s competent to stand trial. The man faces a first-degree assault charge for allegedly beating Jeanette Marken with a wooden board, leaving her with broken facial bones and permanent vision loss. While his public defender flagged long-standing mental health struggles, a state evaluation cleared him to proceed, and court records show a history of prior assault convictions. A pretrial hearing is set for January 15, as the victim’s family says the attack permanently altered her independence.
Your friendly reminder that new state laws kick in January 1, and they’re mostly good news for workers. Workers who go on strike or get locked out can now receive up to six weeks of unemployment benefits, so standing up to your boss doesn’t automatically mean financial free fall. The state is also pulling more revenue from big businesses and tech giants, while passing a “right to repair” law that lets people fix their phones, laptops, and appliances instead of being forced into pricey replacements. Add new movie theater captioning requirements and easier access to emergency medical info on IDs, and Washington is incrementally rolling out changes that make daily life a little more survivable for working-class and disabled people.
To close things out, here’s my favorite New Year’s song that Christmas fully stole, slapped a Santa hat on, and pretended was theirs all along: “Deck the Halls.” The melody comes from a Welsh New Year’s carol about drinking and end-of-year chaos called Nos Galan. Only later was it Christmas-washed by a guy who was like, “What if we added holly?” to the lyrics. So anyway, enjoy the smooth neo-soul Musiq version, which is perfect for ringing in the new year, making merriment, or possibly making babies.
Marcus Harrison Green
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