The Epoch Times

Decorating holiday and Christmas cookies is one of my favorite things to do. I can spend hours happily piping colorful icing and adding sparkly candies to everything from dapper gingerbread men to cut-out sugar cookies. The trouble with iced holiday cookies, though, is that they’re often more about looks than taste—and gingerbread cookies especially can fall short. But not these! Recipe: https://theepochtim.es/nxd4vk

🚨🇺🇸 US Launches ‘Massive Strike’ on ISIS in Syria U.S. forces launched a “massive strike” on the ISIS terrorist group’s infrastructure and weapons sites in Syria on Dec. 19, according to U.S. Central Command. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/e79css

🚨 Watchdog Reveals 1000s of Fraud Applications in Biden-Era Immigration Programs Federal immigration policies led to thousands of fraudulent applications being submitted when 774,000 noncitizens were granted parole from May 2022 through September 2024, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Read more: https://theepochtim.es/4itt2r

🎄 Romeo Muller: The Man Who Scripted Christmas In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ we meet a young puppeteer whose gift for writing establishes some of America’s best Christmas traditions. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/28kua9

🚨🇺🇸 FBI Issues Warning as Sports Gambling Surges The law enforcement bureau noted that 39 states and the District of Columbia have legalized some variant of sports betting, but it said that “illegal sportsbooks and illegal online gaming sites” are still widespread. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/ayd8cm

🚨 Breaking: Elise Stefanik Drops Out of NY Governor Race U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on Dec. 19 announced that she would end her campaign to become governor of New York in the 2026 general election, and that she would not seek reelection to the U.S. Congress in the same year, thereby retiring from elected politics. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/gg48uq

🚨 Influenza Emergency Visits Rise Nationwide The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new influenza and COVID-19 data on Friday, showing that flu levels are continuing to increase. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/ssif6h

🚨 Trump Unveils Deals With 9 Pharma Companies President Donald Trump announced agreements with nine of the largest pharmaceutical companies to offer drugs to Americans at lower prices during a Roosevelt Room ceremony on Dec. 19. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/xz8f5f

🚨 Breaking: Arizona Air Force Base in Lockdown Arizona’s Luke Air Force Base on Dec. 19 issued a shelter-in-place order in response to reports of an active shooter. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/q3mnhf

🚨🇺🇸🇻🇪 War With Venezuela Cannot Be Ruled Out, Trump Says President Donald Trump said on Dec. 18 that he isn’t ruling out the possibility of war with Venezuela amid U.S. economic and military pressure on the country. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/nvojfb

🚨 Erika Kirk Endorses JD Vance for President in 2028 “We are going to get my husband’s friend, JD Vance, elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible,” Kirk said from the stage at AmericaFest 2025, drawing applause from the crowd. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/jf0b44

🚨🇪🇺🇺🇦 EU Leaders Agree on $105 Billion Loan to Fund Ukraine Without Using Russian Frozen Assets The European Union will borrow money for a 90 billion euro ($105 billion) loan to Ukraine to fund the country’s defense over the next two years, rather than use frozen Russian assets, the 27-nation bloc said on Dec. 19. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/4eatm9

🚨 Conservative Giants Spar The first AmFest that Turning Point USA has held since its founder, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated brought together more than 30,000 attendees and a wide range of organizations, from Orthodox Christians to the John Birch Society to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/3s1z6g

🚨 Trump Admin Sanctions 2 International Criminal Court Judges U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sanctioned two judges from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Dec. 18, accusing them of being directly engaged in the “illegitimate targeting” of Israel. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/h5jy2m

🚨 DOJ Won’t Release Full Esptein Files to Congress by Deadline Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Department of Justice (DOJ) will not release the full files related to Jeffrey Epstein by the Dec. 19 deadline, as mandated under new legislation, and will instead release them in batches. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/ftxqm8

Microplastics don’t announce themselves. They just show up uninvited and stick around like glitter after a kindergarten craft party. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/mjwztz

🚨 Treasury Issues New IRS Form 4547 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provided more details on the administration-backed “Trump Accounts” program that allows investments to be made for U.S. children. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/498q54

🚨🇺🇸 Trump Makes Major Immigration Policy Shift The United States has moved to pause the green card lottery program that enabled the suspect in the Brown University shooting to enter the country, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Dec. 18. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/h8ba6x

🚨 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐉𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee granted clemency to the country star for past robbery and drug convictions in recognition of the musician’s redemption. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/o6skrk

🚨🇺🇸 What to Know About Trump’s $1,776 ‘Warrior Dividend’ for Servicemembers President Donald Trump announced “Warrior Dividend” bonuses for the military in a Dec. 17 televised address. Read more: https://theepochtim.es/rokb4v