RECYCLING OVERKILL: Russia’s Space Program Just Took Another Embarrassing Hit. “I look at the revised ROS and wonder how to say ‘vaporware’ in Russian?”

CHANGE: Fairfax County Public Schools Forfeits Case Challenging Its Transgender Policies.

Fairfax County’s public school district’s leaders capitulated in court after a student challenged their pro-transgender policies in court, offering hope that the era of so-called “transgender rights” at the expense of everything else is coming to a close.

Last month, Fairfax County Public Schools, represented by Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, extended a Rule 68 Offer of Judgment to a former student, identified as “Jane Doe,” over its bathrooms and pronouns policies. Virginia’s largest public school district granted the plaintiff $50 and attorney’s fees associated with the case.

Jane Doe, represented by America First Legal, filed the lawsuit asserting that the district violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments, Title IX, and the Virginia Constitution by prioritizing “gender identity” over biological sex and religious conscience. The plaintiff had encountered a boy in the girls’ bathroom while at school, which school policy permits. The district’s code of conduct stipulates bathroom and locker room use is based on “gender identity” rather than biological sex. It also mandates preferred pronoun usage.

In response to the district’s decision not to fight the case, Jane Doe’s mother told IW Features, “My sincere thanks goes to my daughter’s legal team at America First Legal, who were the only adults during this whole ordeal to listen to my pleas for help to keep my daughter safe while she was at school.”

It’s nice to see a little sanity prevail during the Crazy Years.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Nicki Minaj Has a MAGA Moment, Dem False Narratives Hardest Hit. “Now let’s contrast Bret Stephens’ effete snobbery and lack of mental wellness with the thoughtful words of the best selling female rapper of all time. Nicki Minaj appeared with Erika Kirk at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest this past weekend. I think she surprised a lot of people.”

CONSEQUENCES:

BREAKING: In wake of our campaign, UN Hamas apologist Francesca Albanese has been removed from Georgetown University.

L: Her “Affiliate Scholar” page
R: Now deleted https://t.co/AyMbbOPhos

Thank you, @Georgetown. It's time to expel all terror supporters from our universities. pic.twitter.com/091j1et3wW

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) December 21, 2025

CHUTZPAH: North Korea Urges Curbing Japan’s Nuclear Ambitions.

North Korea said Japan’s ambition for possession of ‍nuclear weapons should ‍be “thoroughly curbed,” state media KCNA reported on Sunday.

Japan ⁠is showing the intention to possess nuclear weapons explicitly by saying ​it needs to review the three non-nuclear principles, KCNA said citing ‍a commentary of North Korea’s foreign-policy official.

Japan ⁠began making such comments actively as soon as the United States approved a request from South ⁠Korea for ​building a nuclear ⁠submarine, the media said.

Telling Beijing we’d greenlight Japanese nukes might have caused Beijing to lean hard enough on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program. But that was 20-plus years ago — and an opportunity squandered.

QUEEN: What Nicki Minaj Just Said About Trump and Vance May Surprise You.

GOODER AND HARDER, CALIFORNIA:

California is the Fraud Capital of America:

$32 billion in unemployment fraud
$24 billion in homeless funds "lost"
$18 billion on nonexistent bullet train
$650 million on scrapped 911 system.

A scathing report from the State Auditor just identified 8 separate state agencies as…

— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) December 21, 2025

That ought to disqualify Newsom for higher office, but of course, Dems don’t play that way.

HAPPY NEW YEAR: Trump touts low Christmas season gasoline prices, and analysts say they should hold into 2026.

According to AAA, the average gasoline price in the U.S. was at $2.88 per gallon on Friday. According to the live price on GasBuddy, which uses crowdsourcing data, American motorists were paying an average $2.87 per gallon on Friday morning.

These are the cheapest gasoline prices consumers have seen in December since 2020, AAA reported. GasBuddy predicts gasoline prices will hit around $2.79 per gallon on Christmas Day.

David Blackmon, author of the “Energy Absurdities” Substack and an analyst with more than 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, told Just the News that the low prices are a function of global crude oil prices, over which the president doesn’t have a lot of control. However, he said, the Trump administration’s friendlier regulatory environment is contributing to the boon for consumers.

The regulatory climate matters bigly, Mr. Blackmon: New study recommends loosening California oil regulations to avoid skyrocketing fuel prices.

PUT THAT WAY, HONESTLY IT MAKES IT SOUND SLIGHTLY LESS WORSE: The Minnesota Fraud Scandal Is So Much Worse When You Put It This Way. “The amount of money that’s been stolen is larger than the entire GDP of Somalia.”

GUNS FOR ME BUT NOT FOR THEE:

Isn’t it ironic that this bloke needs about 25 people escorting him around, all armed to the teeth, just to get in and out of a public memorial?

Every single one of them has a gun to protect him — the same tools he’s happy to restrict or take away from everyone else. The… https://t.co/ZW3OmUSdMo

— The Dusty Bogan (@TheDustyBogan) December 21, 2025

WILD:

Well, it wasn't six months to go worldwide.

Ukrainian drone armed merchant raiders are global already 24 hours later.

Maritime insurance risk underwriters are going to be having a double handed polish heart attack. https://t.co/eKx1PE0unV

— Trent Telenko (@TrentTelenko) December 20, 2025

“HISTORY IS ONE DAMN THING AFTER ANOTHER,” BUT MAYBE ESPECIALLY NOW:

Amazing thread from 2018 that ended up being Wrong About Everything.

SJWs lost, spectacularly, and undid norms that allowed what they did to be turned back ferociously on them.

It is true we all have to deal with the mess that was made by it. https://t.co/UNE9RQ5O7r

— Coddled Affluent Professional (@feelsdesperate) December 20, 2025

ASHLEY MCCULLY: Finding Wonder in Christmas as Adults.

MAKE AMERICA’S SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL GREAT AGAIN (FOR THE FIRST TIME): Trump Unveils ‘Freedom 250’ for US Semiquincentennial. “According to the Trump administration, the initiative will focus on national events, storytelling, and civic engagement meant to honor the country’s history while looking ahead to what Trump has called the next 250 years of American leadership and opportunity.”

REAL POLICE-STATE STUFF:

Remember that Trump was indicted for "pressuring" Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to investigate election integrity in his state, and that this was linked with his impeachment. Kinda looks like Trump was right, and was punished for asking appropriate questions. https://t.co/9mJJM9bPC7

— FischerKing (@FischerKing64) December 19, 2025

THIS ISN’T EVEN THE END OF THE BEGINNING:

Even this is just the tip of the iceberg https://t.co/ZKz1kRkXoX

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2025

ELVIS IS EVERYWHERE: Wait, What? John Travolta’s Kid Is Elvis’ Great-Grandson?

KEEP DRIVING DOWN THOSE COSTS: A Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) was launched from the flight deck of littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara while operating in the Persian Gulf. “The ability to deploy effectors like LUCAS without the need for more permanent launch systems, like the Mark 41 vertical launch system (VLS), will allow deployment from a wider range of warships and even auxiliaries, as well as employment from austere locations on land.”

IT’S FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY [VIP]: The Grinch Who Stole a Needy Family’s Christmas. “It’s time for your much-needed break from the serious news, and this week, we’ll learn how to punish the worst person in the world, where not to take your one-day rental two months after it was due back, and all about South Carolina’s Old Bay smuggling operation.”

SPACE: Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will fly by Earth Friday. Here are the latest images. “The comet is expected to remain visible to telescopes and space missions for a few more months before exiting our solar system, according to NASA.”

That’s fast.

LOL, JON KARL: Jonathan Karl Can’t Recall a More ‘Partisan’ Speech Than Trump’s. Who Wants to Tell Him?

SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED FACE IS ENJOYING A LITTLE RECOIL THERAPY: Giffords’ Gun Control-Based State Scorecard Grades Doesn’t Hold Up to Closer Examination.

For 15 years, the annual Giffords “Gun Law Scorecard” has been promoted as a definitive ranking of states doing the most to keep their citizens safe from criminal misuse of firearms. Legislators cite these scores during hearings. Activists use them as “proof” of policy successes and media outlets dutifully repeat the grades ad nauseam without a second thought.

For example, while Giffords gives New York an A, that didn’t stop a number of high-profile criminal attacks this year including the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the shooting of Jets cornerback Kris Boyd, 7 people from being shot on Thanksgiving eve or six shot at a Sweet 16 Party just this week in New York City.

But the scorecards aren’t a measure of crime trends, public safety outcomes, or even the effectiveness of firearm regulations. It’s a grading system built to reward gun control laws on the books and shame states that defend lawful firearm ownership.

Of course.

IT’S TIME FOR VICTORIA TAFT’S West Coast, Messed Coast™: 58 Reasons Why Blue Cities Are Circling the Drain

Washington State is underwater again with rainfall from what they used to call the Pineapple Express, but which has been given a far more interesting moniker of an “Atmospheric River.” That river is flooding the lowlands of the state…again.

We learn anew why Gavin Newsom is the worst governor California has ever had — and that’s pretty bad, considering the list, including the notorious Gray Davis.

And Oregon leads us off because the City of Roses has just shown the country what it looks like when criminals run the criminal “justice” system.

So much more at the link.

LIKE MOWING THE GRASS, THIS HAS TO BE DONE REGULARLY: Trump counterterrorism chief: U.S. has eliminated nearly 450 terrorists, warns of ISIS resurgence.

“As of this morning, we are at 449 jihadis who have been terminated since the President was sworn back in again,” the Senior Director for Counterterrorism, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, told the Just the News, No Noise TV show on Thursday. “That is excluding the Houthi campaign, excluding the cartel drug boats.”

Gorka said the administration has zeroed in on the resurgence of terrorist groups like ISIS in the wake of the Afghanistan withdrawal and lax border enforcement during the Biden administration.

In his first term, “the President declared war on the ISIS caliphate, and within a matter of weeks, the physical caliphate that had been established by the jihadi threat group in Syria in Iraq was gone. However, there are always survivors,” Gorka said.

Gorka said because the Biden administration shifted terrorism focus to domestic terrorism, which earned the administration significant criticism, it gave space for Islamic terrorists to recover from the defeat of the caliphate in Syria.

“As a result, a breathing space was afforded jihadis, and they reconciled, reconstituted themselves, especially in Africa,” Gorka said.

Whenever you think Trump might be moving too slowly on this or that, remember how many messes the Biden cabal left behind.

GOODER AND HARDER HAS ESCALATED TO GOODERER AND HARDERER: Ten Dollar Gasoline: Coming Soon to California. “Studies based on California’s own data suggest they’re headed for between $8 and 1$0 dollars a gallon by the end of 2026. Sacramento responded to this report with vitriol and an attempt to discredit those doing the study. There was no attempt to dispute the data. Just denial, and an attempt to shut down the people who did the study.”

Meanwhile, in America: Gas prices forecast to drop to $2.79 per gallon on Christmas, lowest since 2020.