DESIGN / ART DECO IN D'TOWN LA / 100 YEARS OF STYLE

 Cicada Restaurant & Lounge (Oviatt Building) Downtown, Los Angeles Maybe America’s most cinematic Deco dining room: 30-foot gold-leaf ceilings, Lalique-style glass, and live-band supper-club nights inside downtown’s 1928 jewel. 

Cicada Club is located in the Oviatt Building at 617 South Olive Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The building was completed in 1928 and commissioned by James Oviatt, co-founder of the luxury menswear firm Alexander & Oviatt. 

It was conceived as both a flagship retail space and a statement of Jazz Age confidence in a rapidly growing city. The Oviatt Building was designed by the Los Angeles architectural firm Walker & Eisen and is considered one of the city’s finest examples of Art Deco commercial architecture. 

Oviatt insisted on European materials and craftsmanship throughout, importing marble, ironwork, and decorative elements from France and Italy. The most famous surviving feature is the René Lalique glass doors at the entrance, which remain in place today. 

 

The building combined multiple uses: retail floors for the clothing business, professional offices above, and a private penthouse apartment for Oviatt at the top. During the 1930s and 1940s it stood at the center of a fashionable downtown corridor serving bankers, lawyers, and Hollywood executives. 

 After World War II, as Los Angeles development shifted westward, the Oviatt Building entered a long period of decline along with much of downtown. By the 1970s it was underused, though largely intact. Preservation-minded owners undertook a major restoration in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 

 In 1981 the upper-floor dining space reopened as Rex Il Ristorante, reintroducing the public to the building’s grand interior. In the late 1990s the space evolved into Cicada Restaurant and the Cicada Club. 

The club became known for swing music, big band performances, and classic supper-club evenings, using the original Art Deco interior rather than recreating one. 

Today the Oviatt Building, above, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. The Cicada Club remains one of the few venues in Los Angeles where a preserved 1920s interior is still actively used for dining, music, and social events.

STOCK MARKET YEAR IN REVIEW

A Noisy Finish to 2025, and a Constructive View of 2026 

GUEST BLOG / REPORT FROM EDWARD JONES & CO.--As the year winds down, investors finally received the last major economic data releases before the markets exhale for the holidays. The long-delayed employment and inflation reports arrived with caveats attached, distorted by the recent government shutdown and incomplete data collection. 

Even so, beneath the noise, the numbers reinforce a cautiously constructive outlook for 2026 and hint that the subtle rotation already underway in market leadership may have more staying power than many expected. 

The November inflation report delivered an unexpected headline. Consumer prices cooled more sharply than forecast, with headline CPI slowing to 2.7 percent from 3.1 percent and core CPI easing to 2.6 percent from 3 percent. Core inflation is now rising at its slowest pace since 2021, and both readings came in below every economist’s estimate. 

That surprise, however, comes with an important asterisk. Because the shutdown prevented the Bureau of Labor Statistics from collecting a full set of October data, portions of the report relied on assumptions rather than observations. 

Shelter inflation, which accounts for roughly one-third of CPI and typically moves gradually, showed an unusually sharp slowdown. It appears the BLS assumed zero housing inflation for October due to missing data, likely overstating the true pace of disinflation. For that reason, it may take another month or two before investors and policymakers gain a clearer read on underlying price pressures. 

Even so, the broader trend remains encouraging. Housing disinflation should continue to ease services inflation into 2026. A faster deceleration would be welcome, but the more likely scenario is inflation holding rangebound in the first half of the year and remaining modestly above the Fed’s 2 percent target through 2026, albeit improved relative to 2025. 

The labor market tells a similarly mixed story. 

The delayed October and November employment reports revealed sharp month-to-month swings that obscure the underlying trend. November job growth came in stronger than expected, but only after October posted the largest monthly decline since 2020. That drop was largely driven by a one-time reduction in federal employment as deferred resignations rolled off payrolls. 

Looking past the headline volatility, private-sector hiring appears steadier. Across October and November, the private sector added roughly 121,000 jobs, a pace consistent with a cooling but still functional labor market. 

Hiring remains concentrated in health care, while manufacturing has continued to shed jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in November, a four-year high, but for a constructive reason: more workers re-entered the labor force. For every positive datapoint, there is a counterweight. 

Taken together, however, the most likely path forward is gradual stabilization rather than deterioration. We expect monthly job gains to improve modestly into the 50,000 to 100,000 range, while slower labor-force growth, partly tied to lower immigration, keeps unemployment near 4.5 percent in 2026. 

Against this backdrop, the Federal Reserve appears positioned to maintain a bias toward easing. Chair Jerome Powell has already cautioned against over-interpreting shutdown-distorted data, which helps explain why bond-market expectations for rate cuts barely moved after the latest releases. 

Still, moderating wage growth and a cooling but non-recessionary labor market give dovish policymakers room to argue for gradual cuts next year. Wage growth slowed to 3.5 percent in November, the lowest since 2021, easing pressure on inflation. 

Combined with softer hiring, though not outright weakness, this environment supports a slower, shallower cutting cycle rather than the aggressive easing seen in past downturns. That policy mix, easier monetary conditions alongside a still-growing economy, has important implications for markets in 2026, particularly as leadership dynamics begin to shift. 

After years of dominance by a narrow group of mega-cap technology stocks, signs of broadening have emerged. Since early November, investors have gradually rotated away from the most expensive segments of the market. 

Artificial intelligence remains a powerful long-term driver, but concerns around capital spending, returns on investment, rising debt issuance, and potential overbuilding have prompted what appears to be a healthy pause rather than a collapse. 

At the same time, improving liquidity and the prospect of sustained productivity gains, partly driven by AI itself, may lift profitability across sectors that have lagged. Cyclical stocks, mid-caps, value-oriented investments, and international equities all trade near long-term average valuations relative to their own histories. 

Since November, the equal-weight S&P 500 has outperformed its market-cap-weighted counterpart, a subtle but encouraging signal of healthier market breadth heading into the new year. The implication is not a rejection of technology or innovation, but a widening of opportunity. Leadership within tech may broaden, and leadership beyond tech may finally reassert itself. 

Looking ahead to 2026, uncertainty remains and the data fog may take time to lift. Still, the economic and market backdrop supports another year of positive returns, even if the drivers look different than they have over the past several years. A balanced approach remains prudent. Maintaining exposure to innovation and AI makes sense, but spreading that risk through benchmark-neutral tech positioning and a more even balance between growth and value can help reduce concentration. 

Broadening equity exposure to include mid-caps, cyclicals, and international markets may capture improving earnings momentum at more reasonable valuations. In fixed income, bonds continue to offer attractive income and portfolio stability. 

Even after recent declines, long-term Treasury yields remain near the upper end of their post-2008 range, supporting a benchmark-neutral duration stance. Finally, as cash yields drift lower alongside Fed rate cuts, it may be worth reassessing whether excess cash could be deployed more productively, depending on individual goals and risk tolerance. 

After a noisy close to 2025, the path forward appears steadier than the headlines suggest. 

The market may be changing character, but not losing its footing. 

MEDIA MONDAY / WHEN AI DELIVERS THE NEWS. WHO WINS?

When a bot brings you the news, who built it and how it presents the information matter. People are getting their news from AI – and it’s altering their views Even when information is factually accurate, how it's presented can introduce subtle biases. As large language models increasingly bring people the news, this bias is a looming problem.

GUEST BLOG / By Adrian Kuenzler, University of Denver; University of Hong Kong VIA THECONVERSATIONUS--Meta’s decision to end its professional fact-checking program sparked a wave of criticism in the tech and media world. Critics warned that dropping expert oversight could erode trust and reliability in the digital information landscape, especially when profit-driven platforms are mostly left to police themselves. 

 What much of this debate has overlooked, however, is that today, AI large language models are increasingly used to write up news summaries, headlines and content that catch your attention long before traditional content moderation mechanisms can step in. The issue isn’t clear-cut cases of misinformation or harmful subject matter going unflagged in the absence of content moderation. What’s missing from the discussion is how ostensibly accurate information is selected, framed and emphasized in ways that can shape public perception. 

 Large language models gradually influence the way people form opinions by generating the information that chatbots and virtual assistants present to people over time. These models are now also being built into news sites, social media platforms and search services, making them the primary gateway to obtain information. 

Studies show that large language models do more than simply pass along information. Their responses can subtly highlight certain viewpoints while minimizing others, often without users realizing it. 

 Communication bias. My colleague, computer scientist Stefan Schmid, and I, a technology law and policy scholar, show in a forthcoming accepted paper in the journal Communications of the ACM that large language models exhibit communication bias. We found that they may have a tendency to highlight particular perspectives while omitting or diminishing others. Such bias can influence how users think or feel, regardless of whether the information presented is true or false. 

 Empirical research over the past few years has produced benchmark datasets that correlate model outputs with party positions before and during elections. They reveal variations in how current large language models deal with public content. Depending on the persona or context used in prompting large language models, current models subtly tilt toward particular positions – even when factual accuracy remains intact. 

 These shifts point to an emerging form of persona-based steerability – a model’s tendency to align its tone and emphasis with the perceived expectations of the user. For instance, when a user describes themselves as an environmental activist and another as a business owner, a model may answer the same question about a new climate law by emphasizing different, yet factually accurate, concerns for each of them. For example, the criticisms could be that the law does not go far enough in promoting environmental benefits and that the law imposes regulatory burdens and compliance costs. 

Prof. Adrian Kuenzler

Such alignment can easily be misread as flattery. The phenomenon is called sycophancy: Models effectively tell users what they want to hear. But while sycophancy is a symptom of user-model interaction, communication bias runs deeper. It reflects disparities in who designs and builds these systems, what datasets they draw from and which incentives drive their refinement. When a handful of developers dominate the large language model market and their systems consistently present some viewpoints more favorably than others, small differences in model behavior can scale into significant distortions in public communication. 

 What regulation can and can’t do. Modern society increasingly relies on large language models as the primary interface between people and information. Governments worldwide have launched policies to address concerns over AI bias. For instance, the European Union’s AI Act and the Digital Services Act attempt to impose transparency and accountability. But neither is designed to address the nuanced issue of communication bias in AI outputs. 

 Proponents of AI regulation often cite neutral AI as a goal, but true neutrality is often unattainable. AI systems reflect the biases embedded in their data, training and design, and attempts to regulate such bias often end up trading one flavor of bias for another. 

 And communication bias is not just about accuracy – it is about content generation and framing. Imagine asking an AI system a question about a contentious piece of legislation. The model’s answer is not only shaped by facts, but also by how those facts are presented, which sources are highlighted and the tone and viewpoint it adopts. 

 This means that the root of the bias problem is not merely in addressing biased training data or skewed outputs, but in the market structures that shape technology design in the first place. When only a few large language models have access to information, the risk of communication bias grows. Apart from regulation, then, effective bias mitigation requires safeguarding competition, user-driven accountability and regulatory openness to different ways of building and offering large language models. 

 Most regulations so far aim at banning harmful outputs after the technology’s deployment, or forcing companies to run audits before launch. Our analysis shows that while prelaunch checks and post-deployment oversight may catch the most glaring errors, they may be less effective at addressing subtle communication bias that emerges through user interactions. 

Beyond AI regulation. It is tempting to expect that regulation can eliminate all biases in AI systems. In some instances, these policies can be helpful, but they tend to fail to address a deeper issue: the incentives that determine the technologies that communicate information to the public. 

 Our findings clarify that a more lasting solution lies in fostering competition, transparency and meaningful user participation, enabling consumers to play an active role in how companies design, test and deploy large language models. 

 The reason these policies are important is that, ultimately, AI will not only influence the information we seek and the daily news we read, but it will also play a crucial part in shaping the kind of society we envision for the future. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adrian Kuenzler, Scholar-in-Residence, University of Denver; University of Hong Kong. 

1 PIX = 1,000 WORDS / HEADING WEST INTO A WINTER NIGHT

Cold metal rolling West.

AMTRAK Borealis, westbound through southeastern Minnesota or western Wisconsin. Late-afternoon daylight slipping away on the Chicago–St. Paul run. Best guess: descending into the Mississippi River valley, toward Winona or Red Wing. Going back to Seattle after visiting the folks for Christmas in Chicago.  

COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS / GLIDING FULL SPEED TO A SAO PAULO CAFE

Blue, blue, blue skate shoes...

Late afternoon on Avenida Paulista. The air is humid but forgiving. The city is humming rather than shouting. Cars are still moving, which already tells us this is not peak rush and probably not a Sunday full closure, more likely a Saturday or a weekday drifting toward evening. 

 She leans left, wheels biting the pavement, and commits. If she keeps rolling straight, the coffee stop that actually makes sense for São Paulo street culture is not Starbucks. It’s Urbe Café, just off Paulista on Rua Augusta. Urbe is not a destination café in the precious sense. It’s a crossroads café. The kind of place where designers, students, skaters, freelancers, and people who are “just passing through” all accidentally sit next to each other. Long wooden tables. Strong espresso. Cold brew that actually wakes you up. Music that never quite demands attention but always feels right. It’s also forgiving. You can arrive sweaty, flushed, half out of breath, and no one blinks. Urban motion is part of the dress code. 

 

From where she is in that frame, Urbe Cafe is plausibly 400 to 700 meters away, depending on the exact block. At a confident skating pace, that’s about two minutes, three if she eases up near the intersection. Long enough to feel the ride, short enough to arrive smiling. 

 What makes Urbe fun, and very São Paulo, is that it doubles as a social hinge. People don’t just meet there on purpose. They bump into each other. Someone recognizes someone else’s shoes. Someone asks about wheels or bearings. Someone mentions a show later that night. 

That’s how afternoons turn into evenings in that part of the city. As for timing. This feels like late afternoon, somewhere between four and six. The light is soft, the trees are still holding the day, and nobody looks rushed enough to be fleeing work. 

Weekend is likely, but not mandatory. São Paulo has a way of making weekdays feel like weekends and weekends feel like something else entirely. So the story version is simple. She skates. Paulista offers glide space. Rua Augusta pulls her in. Urbe catches her. Coffee first. Everything else later. And honestly, that’s the right order. 

Urbe Cafe

FRIDAY'S POLITICAL CARTOON / HIM, AGAIN

 

WORLDLY CHRISTMAS COLORS INDEED

 

If red and green are colors of Christmas then this photograph published by Atlantic Magazine wishes us all a Merry Day, indeed.  Amazing image is from southern lights, or Aurora Australis as seen above Earth from the International Space Station orbiting south of Australia earlier this year.  NASA image by Nichole Ayers.  Stop and take in this photo.  What we're seeing is a sight so unbelievable to billions of our ancestors. Wow.

MERRY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE

 

NOEL IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Altadena's (Los Angeles) Christmas Tree Lane in California since 1920

 

1PIX=1K WORDS / FIRST TUESDAY OF WINTER IN SAN DIEGO

Image by K.C. Alfred, San Diego Union-Tribune

MEDIA MONDAY / LOOKING BACK AT A WATERSHED YEAR IN THE MEDIA.

A POYNTER REPORT SPECIAL: THE 2025 YEAR IN MEDIA 

GUEST BLOG / By Tom Jones, Senior Media Writer, The Poynter Report--Today, we look back at the year in media — the good, the bad and the ugly. And there sure was a lot of ugly, with President Donald Trump launching an all-out assault on the press. But there were some signs of hope and support as well, including from a new pope. Before we move on, a quick note: This will be the final Poynter Report of 2025. We will return on Jan. 5 of next year to give you, as always, the latest in media news and analysis each and every weekday. Thanks for reading this year, and I look forward to talking to you again in 2026. Now, for the last time in 2025, we look back at the past year, starting with our … 

 Media personality of the year 

Like every year at this time, the list of possible candidates for media personality of the year is a long one. We considered several names, many of which will appear in other categories later in this newsletter. But one name kept coming up again and again: Bari Weiss, left the new editor-in-chief at CBS News. Then again, we kept asking, has she really made an impact yet? After all, she just started in October. Since then, she has hired a new anchor for the “CBS Evening News” and, on Thursday, announced something called “Things That Matter,” which will feature town halls and debates. While those might turn out to be really impactful moves, her direct influence up until now seems minimal, perhaps too minimal to be the media personality of the year. 

 Then we realized that wasn’t the way to judge this. 

 Everyone — from media observers to the White House to news executives to audiences — is watching every move Weiss makes, looking for any subtle sign as to what will happen next. The left is making her out to be a bogeyman, hellbent on bringing partisan politics to a supposedly neutral news organization. They see her as unqualified, inexperienced and susceptible to being influenced by her own political biases and those of CBS’s new conservative owners. 

The right sees her as a savior, someone who will finally put the liberally biased news media in its place. But whichever camp you’re in, you have to admit that Weiss’ story is a remarkable one in journalism. She went from a New York Times opinion columnist who quit out of anger to someone who started her own media outlet, The Free Press. 

That project made enough of an impact that Weiss landed the top job at CBS News — despite never having worked in television — and sold The Free Press to CBS for a reported $150 million. Now, The Free Press and CBS News are expected to become partners. 

 In the end, her position makes her among the most influential people in journalism, and it’s clear she has an agenda that is sure to last for years to come at one of America’s biggest journalism institutions. For all of these reasons, Bari Weiss is our 2025 Media Personality of the Year. 

 Media story of the year 

President Donald Trump’s attacks on the media have been relentless and unprecedented. He and his administration have defunded NPR and PBS; banned The Associated Press from certain events because it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America; dismantled the Voice of America; sued media companies; insulted journalists with degrading names; criticized late-night hosts; kicked reporters out of the Pentagon; and labelled everything they didn’t like about coverage as “fake news.” 

 A year ago, in my Media Year in Review story, I asked the question: “Will Donald Trump go after the press, seeking to force them to comply with his presidency or face harsh consequences?” The answer we now know is yes. A resounding yes. 

Turns out, it has been way worse than our greatest fears. Poynter is now tracking just how bad it has been with our Press Freedom Watch. We’re just one year into Trump’s second term, with three more to go, and there’s no indication that Trump will ease up on going after the press. These are dark days for the press and our country. 

Pope of the Year

In September, Chicago native Robert Francis Prevost became the first-ever American pope. Now Pope Leo XIV, he has become an advocate for press freedoms around the world, speaking out about it on several occasions. In his most powerful message, less than a month after becoming pope, Leo said, “Doing the work of a journalist can never be considered a crime, but it is a right that must be protected.” 

 Aside from standing up for those covering wars across the world, Leo seemed to send a message to his native country when he said, “With your patient and rigorous work, you can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing. You can also be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth.” 

 Newest (recognizable) face 

In June, veteran journalist Tom Llamas became anchor and managing editor of the “NBC Nightly News,” taking over for venerable Lester Holt. Llamas became just the fourth anchor of the “Nightly News” in the past 40 years, joining a list that includes legends such as Holt, Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw. While Llamas looks comfortable in the big chair, he also has gotten out of that chair — often taking his anchoring duties on the road to places such as Israel, Texas, Chicago, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Alaska. 

And there are at least some signs that NBC could close the gap on what has been ABC’s stranglehold on the evening news. Which leads me to … Most steady NBC brought in a new anchor. CBS continues to search for the right formula (and anchor) to lift itself out of the distant-third-place doldrums. Meanwhile, ABC’s “World News Tonight” and anchor David Muir continue to set the pace for the evening news broadcasts. “World News Tonight” has occasionally topped 8 million in viewership, making it not only the most-watched newscast on TV, but also among the most-watched nonfootball programs on television. 

Muir has become this generation’s Walter Cronkite — the most trusted and recognizable anchor on network news. Biggest name change In 1996, a new cable network hit the airwaves. It was called MSNBC and, at first, the name felt clunky. But it soon became a part of the cable news vernacular. After 29 years, the network underwent a name change this year, going from MSNBC to MS NOW, which stands for My Source News Opinion World. And it’s more than just a name change, as the network has severed ties with NBC. 

But it still is the go-to network for left-leaning audiences. Face of the network MS NOW is Jen Psaki.

Speaking of MS NOW, the network is full of big personalities with strong opinions: Lawrence O’Donnell, Chris Hayes and the “Morning Joe” power couple of Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. The network’s biggest name, however, has traditionally been Rachel Maddow. And while Maddow still appears once a week and typically leads the network on big news nights such as elections and debates, a new face has emerged as MS NOW’s leader. 

That would be Jen Psaki, who has smoothly transitioned from Joe Biden’s press secretary to one of cable news’ biggest stars. 

Most shocking cancellation 

Few people on television are as brilliantly funny and pleasant as CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert. That’s why it was so stunning when CBS announced in July that it would be cancelling the late-night show next May. The timing of the announcement was, well, curious. It came just days after Colbert blasted CBS’s owners for settling a lawsuit with President Donald Trump. 

Nevertheless, CBS insists it is canceling Colbert’s show because of financial reasons. Either way, late-night television will be less entertaining without Colbert. 

 Biggest suspension 

On the topic of late night, ABC owner Disney suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after he made a comment about Charlie Kirk during a monologue. In addition, two local TV affiliate owners (Nexstar and Sinclair) refused to air Kimmel’s program. It all seemed sparked by threatening comments made by FCC Chair Brendan Carr. The suspension lasted less than a week, but it sent a chilling message that the government could intimidate media companies into stripping the freedom of speech — even when it comes in the form of a late-night, talk-show monologue. 

 Most tragic story 

Right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was a controversial and polarizing figure in politics, and the reaction to his shooting death in September highlighted the divide in his country. There is nothing more tragic than a wife losing a husband and children losing their father. But it was also a tragic day for our country. Regardless of your politics, the murder of Kirk should never have happened in a nation where freedom of speech is supposed to be one of its core principles. At a time when you think our country can't get more divided, the senseless murder of Kirk showed just how troubling our politics have become, and it, regretfully, has changed the U.S. permanently. 

 Most ridiculous squabble 

So petty is Donald Trump that he actually kicked The Associated Press — one of the most respected, widely-consumed and neutral press organizations in the world — out of certain press events because it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico what he wants it called: the Gulf of America. The AP is about accuracy and clarity. The body of water between Florida and Mexico has been called the Gulf of Mexico for more than 400 years. The rest of the world recognizes it as the Gulf of Mexico. But because Trump’s ego wanted the name change, he threw a fit when the AP didn’t go along with him. In the process, he denied certain access to a news outlet that provides news to people around the world. 

 Journalism scandal of the year 

 Nothing has been juicier than the scandal involving Olivia Nuzzi, the once wunderkind political journalist who has now lost not one, but two high-profile jobs because of alleged inappropriate relationships with people she covered, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This story also includes a cliffhanging series of Substack posts written by her ex-fiance (another political journalist, Ryan Lizza), a highly publicized (although poorly reviewed) memoir from Nuzzi herself and very R-rated descriptions of, well, R-rated stuff. This story has had it all, and it has sparked serious discussions about journalism ethics and the pitfalls of the growing trend of journalists building themselves into brands. And, you get the feeling that more is coming. The big question now is: Who will play in the movie? 

 Best news influencer 

Pablo Torre’s background as a superb reporter and writer served him well in successful stints at Sports Illustrated and ESPN. But he has branched out on his own with a one-of-a-kind podcast, “Pablo Torre Finds Out.” Torre and his team have dug deep on topics such as right-wing influencer Riley Gaines, the unusual relationship between football coaching legend Bill Belichick and his much-younger girlfriend, what in the world has happened to golfer Phil Mickelson and much, much more. Not only are the stories well-reported, but they are entertainingly told, showing off Torre’s skills as an excellent storyteller. It’s so cool to see someone as talented as Torre try something totally different and new and hit it out of the park.

 Best podcast 

Many of us have our go-to podcasts to get the latest world news and analysis. But, good gosh, listening to current events these days can be so depressing. Sometimes you just need an escape, something fun and light. “Saturday Night Live” alumna Amy Poehler has delivered the perfect listen to those who are just looking to laugh and relax. It’s remarkable just how good Poehler is at this. Her “Good Hang” pod features delightful conversations with many A-list celebrities, and few things can brighten your day like listening to Poehler and her guests laughing hysterically. 

 MVP of the year 

We’re going with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. Aside from hosting her own program on CNN, she also continues to be the network’s chief White House correspondent. Where does she find the time and energy? She’s always well-prepared and can handle anything she’s asked to do — from peppering Trump and press secretary Karoline Leavitt with questions to being quick on her feet when pushing back on guests on her show who are determined to pivot and deflect. Her rise at CNN feels meteoric (she’s still only 33 years old), but it’s well deserved. 

 

Best comeback 

It felt for a while there like the Sunday morning news programs — ABC’s “This Week,” NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CBS’s “Face the Nation” — had fallen into a rut. But the shows have made a comeback of sorts in recent months thanks to strong work by moderators George Stephanopoulos, Martha Raddatz and Jonathan Karl at ABC, Kristen Welker at NBC and Margaret Brennan at CBS. The moderators aren’t afraid to push back, hold guests accountable, and yet still be respectful. The result is productive conversations that often generate real news. 

 Magazine of the year 

The Atlantic would be our pick even if it weren’t for the crazy Signalgate scandal this year, when Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally included in a text chain where senior Trump administration officials discussed potential war plans for Yemen. Goldberg printed this wild story while responsibly handing the information he was given. His stories were mesmerizing and revealing, as are many of the stories you’ll find on a daily basis in America’s best magazine. 

 Most underrated 

The Washington Post has taken a lot of heat, deservedly so, for major changes to its editorial section. Earlier this year, owner Jeff Bezos wrote, “We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others.” The mandate led many respected Post journalists to flee the paper, including respected opinion editor David Shipley. These days, the Post’s editorial section, quite honestly, seems to have lost its teeth, rarely writing anything strong enough to make a true impact. But its news department continues to churn out strong reporting on international and, in particular, national topics with near-daily exclusives. The Post’s editorial section might no longer be worth paying attention to, but the newsroom is still a must-read. 

 Best nonpolitical political show 

ABC’s “The View” wasn’t supposed to be a political show, per se. Barbara Walters launched it back in 1997 as a talk show by women for women. It was supposed to be a roundtable of women talking about the topics of the day, kind of like a bunch of friends gathering for lunch. But it has turned into a newsworthy show, often because of high-profile guests. Some of the biggest names in politics, including presidents and presidential candidates, join the show for conversations that sometimes get testy. And the conversations constantly make news. 

 Best heel 

If politics were like professional wrestling, this year’s undisputed bad guy champ would be CNN’s Scott Jennings. Appearing regularly on “CNN NewsNight,” Jennings gives the conservative/Republican point of view on a roundtable that usually leans left. With a smirk on his face, Jennings rarely concedes an argument — making it hard to tell if he truly believes what he is saying or if it’s all an act. No one gets under the skin of viewers and opposing panelists quite like Jennings. Having said that … 

 Most annoying show 

I actually don’t find “CNN NewsNight” to be a productive show. In theory, it sounds like a good idea: a roundtable discussion of the hot political topics of the day with all viewpoints represented. But instead of finding common ground, the show often devolves into unproductive conversations that end up causing more divisiveness than compromise. The show airs at 10 p.m. Eastern, not exactly the kind of programming that helps get you relaxed for bed. The most discouraging thing is that the show is hosted by the very capable Abby Phillip, who is really good on TV and will, hopefully, find another program someday to show off her excellent skills. But, for now, CNN seems pleased with what they have in “NewsNight.” 

 Biggest mouth

Is there a more notable voice in politics these days than Sean Hannity? He has become the face of Fox News, with his prime-time show often drawing 3 million viewers. On top of that, he hosts a daily three-hour, nationally syndicated radio show. That means he is on TV or radio for four hours a day, with his messages influencing conservative citizens around the country, as well as the man who lives in the White House. 

 Most influential family 

The Ellisons — father Larry and son David. Major movers and shakers in the media world, they purchased Paramount, which includes CBS. Then CEO David Ellison, in a completely-out-of-leftfield move, put Bari Weiss in charge of CBS News. Now the Ellisons are making a hostile run at Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes CNN. They might not be able to pull it over, but if they do, expect major changes — much to the delight of Trump. 

 Next-most influential family 

The Murdochs, of course. Owners of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, the Murdochs and their right-leaning politics have a major impact on the political landscape in the U.S. Following a “Succession”-like battle, Rupert Murdoch’s son, Lachlan, is now in a position to control the company for years to come, meaning the Murdoch conservative agenda will continue to run strong. 

 Best students 

Kudos to the courageous student journalists at Indiana University’s The Daily Student newspaper. After the school’s director of student media, who also served as the paper’s adviser, was fired, and university leadership told the paper not to print any news in its print edition of the newspaper, the student journalists fought back. ​​The university claimed it was not about censorship, but about concentrating on the digital product. It eventually killed the print product altogether. Led by co-editor-in-chiefs Mia Hilkowitz and Andrew Miller, the IDS pushed back the best way it knew how: by writing about the controversy. The paper garnered support from proud IU alumni, including those from the respected journalism program and big contributor Mark Cuban. It became a major embarrassment for the school’s journalism department. Eventually, the university caved, and the paper is once again publishing special print editions. In the end, the journalists at the IDS did what good journalists do: they shone a light on something wrong and got it righted. 

 Most surprising/disappointing firing 

 The Washington Post fired respected opinion columnist Karen Attiah for her social media reaction to the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Attiah said at the time that she was fired for “​​speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns.” When she joined me as a guest on “The Poynter Report Podcast,” Attiah called her firing a “betrayal.” 

 Freakout of the year 

Conservatives losing their minds after the National Football League chose humongous global star Bad Bunny to perform at this season’s Super Bowl. When conservative commentator Tomi Lahren interviewed political analyst Krystal Ball, she asked about the NFL’s choice. Ball said the choice seemed fine, that she didn’t understand why there were those upset and that “he seems like a great American artist.” Lahren said, “He’s not an American artist.” Then Ball dropped the hammer on Lahren by saying, “He’s Puerto Rican. That’s part of America, dear.” 

 Most dangerous media job 

Journalism, especially in certain parts of the world, is a dangerous profession. Last week, Reporters Without Borders reported that 53 of the 67 media professionals killed over the past year are victims of war or criminal networks. The most dangerous place to be a journalist in 2025? Those covering the war in Gaza. Reporters Without Borders claimed nearly half (43%) of the journalists slain in the past 12 months were killed in Gaza by Israeli armed forces. In August, five journalists were among the 20 killed when two Israeli strikes hit a hospital in Gaza. The journalists worked for media outlets including The Associated Press, Reuters and Al Jazeera. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 249 journalists have been killed and another 170 have been injured covering the war there. Figures include war-related killings of journalists and media workers in Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Iran and Israel. 

 Worst settlement 

Rather than fight a lawsuit it likely would’ve won, CBS and its corporate owner, Paramount, decided to settle a lawsuit brought by Donald Trump. The president claimed CBS News edited an interview with Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris in such a way as to help her beat Trump in the 2024 election. Trump won the election anyway and then spooked CBS into paying him $16 million, further bolstering Trump to go after media companies — including a new lawsuit against the BBC. 

 Best and worst of 

AI Artificial intelligence continues to make more of a difference in everything we do, including journalism. But there’s still much work to be done, as proven by one of the most embarrassing uses of AI this year. The Chicago Sun-Times, for its summer reading guide, contained made-up book titles written by ChatGPT. As my Poynter colleague Alex ​​Mahadevan writes in an upcoming year-end piece about AI: “Remember folks, freelancers should sign on to your AI ethics policies.” However, it’s not all bad. Mahadevan also praises some use of AI, giving a cheer to “The Minnesota Star-Tribune, for its smart use of AI to decode and report the videos and journal pages published by the Annunciation Church shooter. I use this example in every AI training, because it shows that the technology — used thoughtfully and with human oversight — can allow journalists to do quick and important investigative work.” 

 Media tweet of the year 

For consequence, this has to be longtime ABC News journalist Terry Moran for calling President Donald Trump and Trump adviser Stephen Miller “world-class haters” in a since-deleted tweet. About Miller, Moran wrote, “Miller is a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He’s a world-class hater. You can see this just by looking at him because you can see that his hatreds are his spiritual nourishment. He eats his hate.” ABC News suspended Moran and then fired him, saying in a statement, “We are at the end of our agreement with Terry Moran and based on his recent post – which was a clear violation of ABC News policies – we have decided to not renew. At ABC News, we hold all of our reporters to the highest standards of objectivity, fairness and professionalism, and we remain committed to delivering straightforward, trusted journalism.” Moran then did what every dismissed journalist seems to do: He took his talents to Substack. 

 Most disturbing fact 

This year, Meta announced it would end its third-party fact-checking program for posts on its social media sites: Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Instead of relying on established fact-checking programs such as Poynter’s PolitiFact, Meta would leave it up to its users to figure out what was right, wrong or needed more context. Sites that at least once tried to let audiences know what was true and not true suddenly turned into a Wild West governed by the citizens. 

 Interview of the year 

Up until this week’s Vanity Fair interview with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, I would have said Norah O’Donnell’s interview on CBS last month with President Donald Trump. I wrote at the time, “Her interview style wasn’t disrespectful, but it was fair and, more importantly, direct and tough. Before it even started, the show acknowledged the lawsuit. And there was no chit-chat, how-ya-doing small-talk. O’Donnell got down to business and stayed that way throughout.” And I stand by that. 

 Biggest pipeline 

The pipeline between Fox News and the Trump White House remains strong. The two biggest names to leap from Fox News to the Trump administration were “Judge” Jeanine Pirro and Pete Hegseth. Pirro left her comfy seat on the highly successful show “The Five” to become the United States attorney for the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, is now the Secretary of Defense. Hegseth is the perfect model for this Trump administration. He’s a TV star whom Trump used to watch regularly, and, as far as Trump is concerned, he just looks the part of a defense secretary. Because he is vastly underqualified, he merely talks and acts the way he thinks Trump wants him to, too. That includes his ridiculous press policy, demanding that the media inside the Pentagon sign a new policy that prohibits journalists from accessing or soliciting information that the Defense Department doesn’t make available to them, including unclassified information. And, oh, the pipeline goes the other way too. Fox News hired Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of the president, to host her own weekend show. 

 Most boring dinner 

One of the highlights of the year in media is the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Typically, the night features a top speaker — Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien, Seth Meyers, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, etc. — roasting those on both sides of the aisle, including the president of the United States, who is almost always there. But this year, all that changed when the White House Correspondents’ Association wimped out by disinviting comedian Amber Ruffin because of comments she made criticizing the Republican Party and refusing the request from the WHCA to criticize both sides of the aisle during her appearance. WHCA president Eugene Daniels tried to explain that he had been “re-envisioning” what the dinner would look like. But, perhaps, he could have done that before the WHCA invited Ruffin to perform. It sure seemed like removing Ruffin from the event was a way to placate the right and Trump, who didn’t bother to show up anyway. 

 Honorable mentions 

While it’s impossible to name every journalist and outlet that did great work this year, a few names do need to be mentioned. This list is, by no means, comprehensive, but here goes: The New York Times. Still the gold standard of news outlets. And, somehow, its groundbreaking podcast “The Daily,” is still underrated. 

Speaking of the Times, its sports site, The Athletic, is finally making money and is the go-to site for sports fans. Charlamagne tha God. His iHeart “The Breakfast Club” podcast is a must-listen (and watch). And now a new deal between iHeart and Netflix means video podcast episodes launch on Netflix in early 2026 in the U.S. This is among the strongest White House press corps in some time, despite a hostile environment created by Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Among the best of the best, along with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, is ABC News’ Rachel Scott, who covers both the White House and Capitol Hill. NewsNation still isn’t big enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Fox, CNN and MS NOW, but its prime-time programming tries and is often very watchable. “CBS News Sunday Morning” is still as good as any show on TV. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. Love him or hate him, you have to admit: He’s never boring. And he’s becoming even more interesting as he ventures further and further into politics. Fox News’ “The Five.” At least one respected outlet finds the weekday show to be the most influential in media. More favorite podcasts: “Pod Save America,” “On with Kara Swisher,” “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” “The Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch,” and Jeff Pearlman’s “Two Writers Slinging Yang.” I say this through gritted teeth, because I think she can sometimes be just awful, but Megyn Kelly has built a legitimate superstar podcasting network, MK Media. Incredibly, she’s even bigger now than she was when she was on either Fox News or NBC. The unlikely pair of Pat McAfee and Nick Saban has pumped new life into ESPN’s “College GameDay.” Speaking of which, in 2025, we said goodbye to longtime “GameDay” analyst Lee Corso, who retired after nearly 38 years on the pregame show. Welcome back to the “NBA on NBC” as the NBA returned to the network for the first time since 2002. Meanwhile, a sad goodbye to the NBA on TNT — which had been carrying NBA games since 1988. 

Best documentary: The great Ken Burns did it again, this time with “The American Revolution.” 

Burning questions for 2026 

What’s going to happen with the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery? Will it go to Netflix or Paramount? What else will AI be used for in journalism and entertainment? Uh, are we ever going to get a resolution on TikTok? Can Tony Dokoupil make a difference taking over as anchor of the “CBS Evening News?” And, finally, I ask the same question I asked last year, with a slight modification. Instead of asking, “Will Donald Trump go after the press, seeking to force them to comply with his presidency or face harsh consequences?” I ask, “How much further will Donald Trump go after the press, seeking to force them to comply with his presidency or face harsh consequences?” 

Have feedback or a tip? 

Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones, left, at tjones@poynter.org. The Poynter Report is your daily dive into the world of media, packed with the latest news and insights. Get it delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday by signing up here. And don’t forget to tune into our biweekly podcast for even more. 

SUNDAY SHAME / WHY DO WE ENDURE THIS SACRILEGE?

STOLEN-VALOR-IN-CHIEF     NYTIMES image

Why? Do we do nothing?

How much more must we endure? Where is the shame?

SUNDAY REVIEW / HARDEST CROSSWORD PUZZLE DAYS

Here’s the traditional degree of difficulty for New York Times CROSSWORD PUZZLES by day of the week. This pattern has held for decades and is still the general rule: 

Monday – Easiest Straightforward clues, familiar vocabulary, minimal trickery. Designed so anyone can finish. 

Tuesday – Easy to Moderate A slight bump in difficulty; more wordplay begins to appear. 

Wednesday – Moderate Often the “theme trick” day — rebuses, wordplay twists, visual or conceptual themes. A transition from easy to challenging. 

Thursday – Hard The real knottiness begins. Known for complex themes and unusual mechanics (rebuses, grid tricks, pun-heavy clues). Many solvers consider Thursday the toughest themed puzzle of the week. 

Friday – Harder, but themeless The start of the themeless puzzles. Difficulty comes from: • longer, crossing-laden fill • trickier cluing • fewer “gimmes” 

Saturday – Hardest The most difficult puzzle of the week. Wide-open grids, no theme, extremely cryptic or oblique cluing. A stamina test. 

Sunday – Medium–Hard but long Despite its intimidating size, Sunday is usually equivalent in difficulty to a Thursday — tricky but not brutal. The challenge comes more from length than clue complexity. 

COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS / HO, HO, HO, THE MOST FESTIVE HOLIDAY STARBUCKS IN AMERICA

Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago

The atmosphere at the Chicago Starbucks Reserve is festive and immersive 

The flagship Starbucks Reserve Roastery in downtown Chicago is a multi-story coffee destination where you can sip rare Reserve coffees, enjoy crafted cocktails, taste artisanal food, tour roasting equipment, and soak in the design of an impressive five-story space on the Magnificent Mile. 

During the holiday season, Starbucks Reserve Roasteries — including the Chicago location — go all out with decorations and lighting installations. In 2025, Starbucks introduced its “Let It Glow” holiday activation, with four levels of twinkling stars and holiday lights wrapped around the iconic coffee cask at the Chicago Roastery. 

The experience is curated to feel like a radiant, star-filled wonderland spread throughout the architecture itself, not just a handful of wreaths or garlands. 

Starbucks Holiday beverages and menu items — from Peppermint Mocha Espresso Martinis to Caramel Miso Hot Cocoa with gold flakes — along with seasonal merchandise and music collections, enhance the joyful vibe inside each space. 

Does Chicago’s Reserve deserve the title “America’s most jolly holiday decorated outlet”? 

Until something better and brighter comes along the answer to the above question is YES! Chicago Reserve’s holiday setup is definitely cheerful, show-stopping, and worth a visit if you love festive experiences. 

There’s no official ranking by Starbucks or any authoritative source declaring that this location is America’s most jolly holiday-decorated coffee shop. 

Of course, the claim seems more like enthusiastic fan or marketing language rather than a formal title. 

But what is true is: • The Chicago Reserve Roastery is one of the most elaborately decorated Starbucks locations in the U.S. during the holidays, thanks to large-scale installations and immersive lighting. 

Its decorations are part of a larger seasonal campaign that also includes New York Roastery installations — meaning the Chicago experience is one of a few flagship holiday showpieces, not necessarily uniquely supreme. 

If you’re planning to drop by, visitors often describe the Reserve as a vibrant, sensory treat during the holidays — bright lights, seasonal drinks, music, and the sheer scale of the space all contribute to a joyful, festive coffee outing. 

FRUITION FRIDAY / PRESS CORPS COVERING THE SECOND COMING

"Peace."

 The First Day of the Second Coming 

 GUEST BLOG / By All of Us--The first light came without a sound. No trumpets, no thunders, no cinematic clouds parting like velvet curtains. Dawn simply arrived—clearer, purer, as if the sun had been polished overnight. People noticed the quality of it first. In Mexico City, the smog lifted. In Beijing, blue returned to the sky. In New York, the Hudson shimmered as if it had been scrubbed clean by invisible hands. 

Meteorologists were the first to go live. “Anomalous refraction,” one said. “Solar interference,” said another. But no one could explain the subtle vibration that accompanied the light—a frequency felt rather than heard, like standing too close to a cathedral organ. It didn’t stop. It hummed inside bones and concrete alike, a tuning fork struck by something celestial. 

At precisely 6:00 a.m. Jerusalem time, every bell in the Old City began to ring. Not by human hand—clappers swung on their own. In Rome, the same. In Paris, the bells of Notre Dame, still under restoration after decades of work, pealed with impossible perfection. In San Diego, parishioners at St. Joseph’s reported hearing Gregorian chant though no choir had gathered. Across continents, mosques filled with spontaneous adhan—calls to prayer in voices unrecorded. 

Then came the quiet. A total stillness, as if the world had collectively held its breath. 

*** 

In author Dan Brown’s universe, the divine tends to arrive encoded—messages hidden in frescoes, Fibonacci sequences, or encrypted papal archives. But this, if it could be called divine, was utterly unencrypted. It was plain, direct, impossible to misread. At 7:07 a.m. local time—everywhere—the light concentrated over the eastern horizon. Witnesses later said it was like a second sun rising, though softer, with edges blurred by compassion itself. 

Air-traffic control centers reported the phenomenon first. Every radar, every satellite, every thermal camera locked onto the same coordinates: a figure descending at a constant velocity, human in outline, clothed not in white robes but in light itself. 

*** 

By the time He reached ground level—if “He” can still be used for one who seemed beyond gender, nation, or creed—the crowd had gathered spontaneously. Some ran toward Him; others fell to their knees. The figure stepped onto the ancient stones near the Mount of Olives. Sandaled feet, dusty, unremarkable. The robe, woven of light and air. The eyes, unfathomable—each color known to humankind reflected in shifting order, like galaxies rearranging themselves for inspection. 

A child approached first. [We knew it all along that it would be a child]. She carried a cracked plastic toy—a lamb missing a wheel. He knelt to her height and took it gently, as if it were a relic of the first creation. 

“Do you know me?” He asked. 

She nodded without words. 

“Then tell them I have returned.” 

The child’s voice was broadcast somehow—through phones, radios, even dormant televisions. Every screen flickered to life. “He says He’s back,” she said, simple as that. 

*** 

The Vatican issued a statement within the hour. But not before the President of the United States shouted for all to hear "I invited him, first." Then within a gasp a lightning bolt struck him and turned him into a solid sack of shit emblazoned with Stephen Miller's face.  

Some how the Pontiff returned to the airways: “We remain cautious but prayerful,” said the pontiff, trembling under the blinding clarity of Rome’s noon light. “The Church has awaited this day for millennia. May our hearts be ready.” In Mecca, scholars debated whether prophecy had reached its completion. In New Delhi, pilgrims filled the ghats. In San Francisco, skeptics streamed onto Telegraph Hill with smartphones raised, live-casting disbelief. Every religion saw in Him its own reflection. The Buddhists called Him the Maitreya. The Muslims whispered Isa al-Masih. The Hindus saw the Kalki avatar. 

The scientists, unwilling to surrender vocabulary, called it an “interdimensional manifestation.” 

But labels failed, melting under the sheer gravity of presence. 

And then He spoke again—not from His mouth, but directly into the architecture of the mind. “Peace,” He said. “Begin again.” The phrase was simple enough to fit on a protest sign, yet vast enough to rewrite history. 

*** 

On that first day, miracles were not cinematic. They were administrative. In Lagos, power grids rebooted without command. 

In Ukraine, soldiers found their weapons jammed with flowers—where they came from, no one knew. 

The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed itself. 

The Pentagon’s encrypted network filled with one sentence repeated endlessly: All deniers will be shot.

Reporters scrambled. 

Was it artificial intelligence, an alien event, a deepfake crafted by new world governments? 

Conspiracy theorists shouted from basements, but the bandwidth belonged to something larger. The light disrupted nothing; it only clarified. People could no longer lie. Politicians died on the spot.  

Networks uttered words formed in the mind and emerged truthfully, stripped of pretense. Politicians stuttered into silence. 

Preachers wept as they're 401ks plummeted in worth. 

Bankers refunded debt. 

And everywhere, clocks stopped at 11:11. 

*** 

A journalist in London—let’s call her Maria, a skeptic since baptism—found herself writing not analysis but confession. “For years,” she typed, “I treated faith as fiction, but fiction seems the only vessel wide enough to hold today.” She uploaded her article without title. Within minutes, her words appeared simultaneously on every news site on Earth. 

The byline changed to All of Us. 

 By afternoon, the figure had walked west. Oceans parted, not physically but perceptually—people could see through water as if it were glass. Beneath the Atlantic, coral cities glowed like Christmas lanterns. Dolphins followed His wake, singing in octaves unheard since Genesis. Crowds multiplied, yet no stampede occurred. The air thickened with calm. Even predators forgot their hunger. On the Serengeti, lions slept beside antelope. In Los Angeles, traffic dissolved into voluntary stillness. A city built on motion suddenly remembered stillness. And still, He walked down Wilshire Boulevard ignoring the new LA subways. 

*** 

Theologians once argued whether the Second Coming would be judgment or renewal or a Spielburg epic with a Mel Brooks lead. The answer, it seemed, was neither and both. 

Judgment came not from fire but from reflection. Each person saw themselves through His gaze and understood, instantly, every kindness given, every cruelty ignored. For some, the illumination was unbearable; they fled into darkness, only to find the darkness gone. 

In Times Square, billboards went blank except one. It displayed no brand, only a pulse of light timed to each human heartbeat. Beneath it, a street preacher dropped his placard and simply said, “We were right and wrong all along.” 

By evening, nations met via emergency link because all the bars had closed. 

“How do we govern this?” one president asked. “Do we yield sovereignty to a celestial authority?” 

Another replied, “We already have.” Treaties, wars, alliances—all seemed child’s play in comparison to the wordless government unfolding in the air. 

No commandments were issued. No armies marched. The only policy was presence. Those who wished to follow were told, “Feed the hungry.” Those who doubted were told the same. The light dimmed slightly, enough for stars to reappear. That night, astronomers noticed constellations rearranging. Orion’s Belt bent toward the Southern Cross. The Big Dipper formed a question mark with a trademark sign. 

*** 

By midnight, miracles grew personal. A blind woman in Rio saw her mother’s face for the first time. A refugee in Gaza felt her lost son’s hand in hers. An addict in Chicago set down the needle and found the will to live. All those that a former president stiffed in business deals invaded Mar-a-Lago, Florida.  Not through magic, but recognition. “You are seen,” said the voice in every heart. “Now see each other.” Hospitals reported spontaneous recoveries. Cemeteries glowed faintly, as if the dead were turning over—not in protest, but in awe. No graves opened, yet no one feared them anymore. 

 The first day ended not with apocalypse, but understanding. Apocalypse, after all, means “revelation.” Humanity finally grasped that the kingdom was never elsewhere—it had always been latent in the space between compassion and courage. 

At 11:59 p.m., the figure stood once more before the gathered multitudes, the light dimmed to moon-brightness. “Tomorrow,” He said, “you decide whether I stay. And in the meantime all religious organizations return all monies they collected back to the poor or be rendered into dust within a week. And then He vanished into the second sunrise. 

A week later, the world ended as a majestic dust storm [of a size never seen before] engulfed the planet for 40 days and 40 nights destroying all the temples. 

 Only the cockroaches survived. 

### 

Editor’s note: Some will dismiss this as allegory, as myth-making for an age addicted to immediacy or simply tommyrot. Perhaps. But if the Second Coming were to happen in our century of satellites and surveillance, wouldn’t it unfold exactly like this—broadcast in every language, humbling every algorithm, reminding us that the end of the world might simply mean the end of our blindness? 

Until then, the light lingers. We tremble as morning nears hoping the sun rises on one more day.  “Peace,” He said and "let's reboot."

AMERICANA / NATIONAL CHRISTMAS TREE HISTORY

The theme for the Obamas' last Christmas in the White House was "The Gift of the Holidays." The ribbon decorating the official tree in the Blue Room had the preamble to the U.S. Constitution inscribed on it and was surrounded by gold and silver ornaments.

President Harrison's holiday tree

Benjamin Harrison was the first President to have a decorated Christmas tree (above, replica) in the White House, and his home in Indianapolis reflects his fondness for celebrating the holiday. 

During the holiday season, the house represents a gala Victorian Christmas at its finest. Outside, the house is festooned with garlands of greenery and bows on the wrap-around porch. Upon entering the house, guests will feel drawn back in time to a 19th century Christmas. 

 The front parlor features a large tree similar to the one Benjamin Harrison decorated for his grandchildren in 1889 in the White House. Authentic decorations such as wooden soldiers, cotton batting ornaments, hand-blown glass figures, and candles adorn this tree. Victorian toys, many of them Harrison originals, will be displayed under the tree as the children might have found them on Christmas morning. 

 The seven fireplace mantels throughout the house are lavishly decorated with greenery, dried flowers, pine cones, seed pods, fresh flowers, ribbons and bows. Many of the designs were taken directly from period publications. This same treatment is used on mirrors, furniture, chandeliers, and doorways while garlands and ribbons cascade gracefully down the three-floor banister. 

 The traditional evergreen was not the only holiday tree used by the Victorians. Feather trees, made from dyed goose feathers, were also popular. These trees originated in Germany as part of the early conservation movement. A feather tree decorated with hand-blown glass ornaments is displayed. A snow tree—made from last year’s real tree with needles removed and swathed in cotton batting—is traditionally covered with edible treats such as cookies and candies. 

 You will find an “Old Father Christmas,” inspired from an 1868 Ladies Godey’s Magazine. He is made from pine cones, moss, sheep’s wool and real fur. Other historic decorations include pomanders, a kissing ball, wreaths, a greenery covered lyre, tussie mussies and cornucopias.

WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS TREES

The tradition of the White House Christmas tree did not begin with the founding fathers, despite long-standing myths. For many years, the Christmas tree was a private family custom rather than a public display.

Early trees were modest and usually cut locally from the Washington, D.C. area or nearby parts of Virginia and Maryland. They were most often firs or spruces, selected for availability rather than visual impact. Decorations were simple, and candles were used until electric lighting became common in the early twentieth century. 

INDOORS. President Lyndon Johnson and First Lady Bird Johnson hosted UK Prime Minister Harold and Mrs. Mary Wilson at the White House during the 1965 Christmas season.

The modern, ceremonial White House Christmas tree tradition was established in 1966 during Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration. That year, the tree was formally designated as the official White House Christmas tree and placed in the Blue Room, where it has remained ever since. From that point forward, the tree became a public symbol, featured during official receptions, concerts, and televised holiday events. Today, the tree is almost always a Fraser fir, chosen for its strong branches, symmetrical shape, and ability to hold heavy ornaments while retaining its needles. 

OUTDOORS. President John F. Kennedy presided over the lighting of this National Christmas Tree in December 1962. The Colorado blue spruce was harvested from a national forest near Poncha Pass in Chaffee County.  It was erected in the Ellipse in President's Park, Washington DC.

Since the late 1960s, the tree has been sourced from American Christmas tree farms through a rotating selection process. Growers from states such as North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and West Virginia compete for the honor. The selected tree is cut in late November and transported to Washington for installation. 

The White House Christmas tree is typically unveiled in early December and remains on display throughout the holiday season. It is taken down shortly after New Year’s Day. While each individual tree is temporary, the tradition itself endures as one of the most recognizable and quietly meaningful rituals of the American presidency. 

First Lady Laura Bush strolls by White House holiday decorations in 2004.

***

How Archie Roosevelt Saved The White House Christmas Tree Tradition 

In 1902, Archie Roosevelt’s birthday fell near Christmas, and all he really wanted was a tree to open gifts. Big problem.  His father President Teddy Roosevelt banned Christmas Trees from the White House as a symbolic gesture to save our national forests.  

Archie had other ideas.  The young Roosevelt boy went out on the White House lawn and cut down a Christmas tree. They smuggled the tree into the White House and propped it up inside of a small sewing room. The White House handyman helped the boys add the lights to the tree, and their aunt helped find the decorations. 

On Christmas morning, after everyone was gathered to open their presents, Archie surprised his family by opening the door to reveal the beautiful Christmas tree. Since he did not have a lot of ornaments available for him to use, so the sweet little boy hung presents for every member of his family, which included every one of the pets. 

 There are several different versions of the story as to what happened next. Some say that President Roosevelt was touched by 8-year-old Archie’s ingenuity and Christmas spirit, and it was, after all, near his birthday, so he let it slide. 

BOY WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS TREES. President Theodore Roosevelt with his family at Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, New York, 1903. Left to right: Quentin Roosevelt leaning against his father; President Theodore Roosevelt, seated, hat in hand; Archibald, "Christmas Tree Archie" Roosevelt, seated in front on the chair arm; Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt Jr., standing behind; Alice Lee Roosevelt, standing in white with the broad-brimmed hat; Kermit Roosevelt, standing beside her; First Lady Edith Roosevelt, seated; and Ethel Roosevelt, standing at far right.

Others say that he tried to lecture his kids about the importance of forest conservation. In 1906, Teddy Roosevelt wrote a letter to his sister to say that every year from then on, both Archie and his brother Quentin took it upon themselves to put up a Christmas tree in the children’s play room, and they would make sure to have full stockings and presents hanging on the tree, like they had in previous years. 

Other years, Archie would even surprise his parents by setting up a tree for them that was a surprise on Christmas morning. This kid seriously loved Christmas!  Despite all of the heart-melting cuteness of his son putting up Christmas trees, 

President Roosevelt still needed to clear his conscience, since it was pretty hypocritical to denounce Christmas trees and yet allow his own kids to have them. He called up one of his fellow conservationists, Gifford Pinchot, from the US Forest Service. 

He asked his opinion on the situation, since he knew far more about forestry, and how much of an impact cutting down Christmas trees actually had on the environment. Pinchot said that if people cut down the tallest and oldest trees for their homes, it actually helps the small trees grow. At that time, a lot of people would cut down 2 or 3 foot Christmas trees, because they were easier to carry out of the woods. This advice is mostly likely why today, it is far more popular to have a 6-foot tree, instead. 

Once he learned this news, Roosevelt retracted his decision to cancel Christmas trees, and changed his tune to encouraging people to cut a large tree, so long as it is done responsibly. After learning this, he stopped trying to tell American citizens that they cannot have their Christmas trees during the holidays. 

 In 1903, the Roosevelts hosted their first Christmas Carnival on the White House lawn. There were six kids in the Roosevelt family, and 300 other children of the White House staff and government officials living in Washington DC were invited to participate in the festive winter wonderland. There were games, dances in the White House ballroom, and a huge dinner for the guests. For dessert, everyone got to eat an ice cream sundae in the shape of Santa.

 It would seem that the Christmas spirit was in full force, and the family continued to decorate and enjoy the holiday to the fullest extent. 

Today, the National Parks Service allows families to go and cut down their own Christmas tree on public land if they have a permit. Certain municipalities even offer a Christmas tree recycling service to help get rid of any waste after the holidays are over. For people who prefer to have a live Christmas tree, they usually purchase them from farms, which has dramatically cut down from tampering with the wild. 

 The National Christmas Tree now stands in front of the White House every year, and it has a public lighting ceremony. None of it may have happened if it were not for the Roosevelt kid trying to save the tradition forever.