Youtube daily US Dec 25 2018

What's up, guys, how's it going? Welcome to another English listening practice video. So just like the other listening practice videos

I've made, this video will be about 10 minutes in length and the way I suggest that you use it

is that you watch this video three times: first without the English subtitles

So you just listen and try to understand as much as possible, and then a second time with the English subtitles activated.

(I'm gonna put those below) and then the third time without the English subtitles again

so in this way

you can see how much better you are the third time

than you were the first time and how many more of those small words you can understand the final time around

So today, the topic that I want to talk about is Christmas and specifically Christmas in the U.S.

So I know a lot of you are probably interested in how

we, Americans, celebrate Christmas and what the differences are between Christmas in the U.S. and Christmas and your country?

So I'll talk to you just briefly about that

So first, what you need to know is the Christmas season begins around the end of

Thanksgiving. So most of you probably know about the U.S. holiday, Thanksgiving

which happens at the end of November. And usually, right after Thanksgiving

this is when the Christmas season starts. And when I say Christmas season, what I mean is

everything starts to become

more Christmasy it becomes

It has a more Christmas feeling after that

so what happens is people will start to decorate their houses with Christmas lights and decorations and

music will start to...

Christmas music will start to be played on the radio, in stores, in cafes and

pretty much everywhere you go, you're gonna hear Christmas music or Christmas-themed music

wherever you go

So yeah

that's the start of Christmas season and

around this time, as I mentioned, people decorate their houses. And so one thing that's kind of cool in the U.S.

is pretty much no matter where you live, I think, as long as you're in a big city, you can find certain

neighborhoods or certain... like streets or cul-de-sacs that are dedicated to

being what we call a Candy Cane Lane. So if you live in one of these neighborhoods

pretty much you agree to

decorate your house with amazing Christmas decorations and lights so that the whole neighborhood

is decorated in amazing Christmas

decorations. And the reason why they do this is it attracts people to come and... and...

Take a stroll around the neighborhood and look at the different

houses and their decorations and their lights and it's just a really cool thing that people

take pride in if they live in one of these neighborhoods

So there are usually a few of them in every big city

You can go and and just spend an hour

or so walking around, or even driving slowly around these neighborhoods that have really amazing

Christmas decorations and lights and they're completely decked out from top to bottom with really cool things

So that's one of the... interesting things that you can do around the

Christmas season in the US

and so once Christmas starts to

approach and we start to get closer,

people will put their Christmas tree up

Some people buy a real tree and some people even go to the extreme and they go and cut down

a Christmas tree from the wild and they'll bring it home and...

and use it for their Christmas tree and some other people use a fake one

So in my parents house, they always put up a fake Christmas tree

So they assemble it every year and it's easy to put together and then take apart and then store in the attic or whatever

but one tradition that we have

Not everyone has this tradition

but when I was young... I have one sister, so my sister and I

would get to decorate the Christmas tree with ornaments, and this is something we looked forward to every year

during the Christmas season, is we would...

or my dad would go into the attic and he'd take down this big box of ornaments that we had

And my sister and I would take turns putting the ornaments on the trees... on the tree... and decorate it

however, we wanted and

one common

thing that children do in school in the U.S. around Christmas time...

usually just young children... teachers will have them make ornaments like in the art class or whatever

They'll make ornaments for their Christmas tree and they'll bring them home and they'll have new ornaments every year for their tree

So this is something I did when I was in preschool,

kindergarten, first grade and so on. So we always had new ornaments to add to the tree

So when we were young, we really like doing this

Another tradition that I think most families

will... will do in the U.S., is that they do Christmas stockings

So if you don't know what stockings are

those are these... the big socks that Americans will hang above the fireplace and this is where

Santa comes down the chimney,

down the fireplace, and he puts gifts in each of the stockings for the kids and even for the adults sometimes,

sometimes the family will put a stocking for everyone, even Grandma and Grandpa and whoever and so

For example, and I was young, my sister and I, we would wake up at like 6:00 a.m

every Christmas morning and we would, you know, whoever would wake up first,

we would awake the other person up and then we'd run into the living room

We'd go and we'd open our stockings and open up all the presents before my parents woke up

So this was one of my favorite memories of Christmas that I had... that I have from my childhood.

I miss

having stockings to open because now I'm an adult and we don't do that anymore

but when I was young that was one of our favorite parts of Christmas, and so

Another thing that's a little bit different in the U.S. and in other parts of the world

I know, especially in Latin America, is that in the U.S.,

Christmas is really

considered the 25th of December

so the 24th is what we call Christmas Eve and this is important and usually your...

families get together on Christmas Eve maybe and have a celebration but

Christmas itself is really on December 25th. And I know this is different in most other countries

Here in Mexico, where I live, the 24th is more important and I think in all of Latin America

it's the same and I'm assuming in Europe, It might be the same as well.

But in the U.S., the 25th is really the most important day. That is Christmas Day

as opposed to Christmas Eve, which is the 24th. And so

Normally what will happen though is if you have a pretty big family,

what people will do is on Christmas Eve,

maybe, they'll spend that day with the mother's side of the family maybe and then on Christmas Day

they'll spend that day with the father's side of the family and this is what we did when I was... when I

was growing up is on the 24th, we would go to my father's side of the family to celebrate and on the 25th,

we'd celebrate with my mother's side of the family. So I know that's pretty common

just so you get to see everyone: all the aunts, all the cousins, all the grandparents and everyone and

You get to divide that into two days, so

Usually even though the 24th is not considered Christmas for us, that's Christmas Eve,

it's usually still a day of celebration because usually you go to both sides of the family

Not everyone, but this is what we did growing up. So during the actual Christmas Day celebration

typical foods

usually include like ham, I think ham is probably the most

typical Christmas food. As you guys know, on Thanksgiving

we eat turkey and on Christmas you could eat turkey, but it's more common to eat ham, like a

a good Christmas ham and so ham is... is very common. Things like mashed potatoes,

obviously salad, bread,

and all the sides are usually subject to the different family, the different

the different

customs of your family or of your state or city or region of the U.S.

So the sides can be really different depending on who you are and where you are

Whereas ham is pretty much the main

Christmas

the Christmas

entree, let's say, but some people don't use ham... or don't eat ham and some families are vegetarians so they do something else

But ham is probably the most

important food during Christmas and of course during Christmas, there's a lot of sweets and cookies and

People decorate Christmas cookies. This is something that my wife is gonna do with the other woman in our family

I think this Saturday they're gonna go decorate Christmas cookies

and they... they make designs on them and and use icing and other

other sweets and toppings and they assemble these cookies and it's kind of a fun thing for the holidays

So yeah, that's pretty much what

my experience with Christmas is

in America. Other Americans have other experiences and if you ask other Americans

they'll tell you something probably a little bit different, but in general, that's what I grew up doing

around Christmas time

and so I hope this was informative for you and you learned a little bit and if you have any questions about

Christmas, or if you have any questions about any of the words or phrases I used, or if you didn't

understand something that I said, go ahead and leave that in a comment down below and I'll help you out with that

So yeah, if you have any other suggestions for future

listening practice videos, any topics that you want me to talk about,

you can also leave those in a comment down below and I'll add those to the list of topics that I want to discuss.

And so yes, I wish every one of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I'll see you soon, bye-bye

For more infomation >> English Listening Practice 6 - Christmas in the U.S. - Duration: 10:47.

-------------------------------------------

A MISSED CONNECTION | The Last of Us Remastered # 12 - Duration: 17:12.

Ianisin here, and welcome back to The Last of Us Remastered.

Now we left where I turned on that engine thang.

Ellie came through with the horse, got back on, and here we are now on our way to this

little lab or mirror like building to find apparently, what we have been doing this whole

time finding fireflies.

But yeah, we will see how it pans out.

So yeah I..I.

Let me look around.

I have been holding off from this game for a while and I just keep forgetting about this

game.

I don't know but Hitman 2 has been on my mind for some weird reason, I really like it.

I love hitman so much.

But yeah, I'm going to try and get back into remastered and try and not to miss any of

the videos.

I'll what I can do, I'll try and go longer without missing any videos.

Might as well stay of the horse for a while cause I got building jere here and there.

Oh sorry, not building Tents.

It's

Tess isn't it?

It's Tess.

Yeah I may be wrong but that is my little theory.

I bet you it's Tess.

Okay, let's see what's around here, probably some more Pendants, ammo, bits of gears, I

got a lot of gears I think I got like 900 something.

" Responding to Joel " Erik Griggs I know that guy he owes me ten dollars.

I need to say something really quick, if you don't want to here it fast forward it.

What I had to do was , You want to know why it took me so long to come back to this game.

But what I had to do was, as soon as I saved, I had to go back in to record it again and

you know what all my data was gone.

I had to restart this game all over again.

I was so mad, You could not believe it.

So yeah that's why this game kinda delayed.

I wanted to get back to the part where I left off and I yeah I took it off from there.

But I had a fun time because The Last of Us is fun and the Story is really good, so yeah

it kinda made up for it.

Okay let's get back to Ellie.

Okay where to now?

It's probably through that gate.

Ok, drop down.

Where, where oh, over there ok, this must be that mirror like building, yeah that is

what she is talking about.

Ok I see a little bit of a garbage bin cause yeah, I see a little bit of handles on it.

Let me see what's around here.

Anything?

Behind corners, or stone.. plant things.

Look at that tree it's glitched in the concrete.

That's interesting.

Who is that?

Johnny Cage.

Johnny Calla Rules.

I don't know that's what it kind of says.

John call me.

I wasn't really talking about that but you can say what ever you want.

Yeah Ellie you can sit on that horse that whole time and just look me without any help.

You are such a good good pal.

WHOA?

Ah damn that was kinda loud especially when I got headphones on.

So yeah, it was kinda loud for me.

Okay, WHOA.

You are just going to leave the horse right there.

I should " ANGRY AT ELLIE " I need to stop hating on Ellie.

There's always one character you just hate, cause you know the person just pisses you

off so much.

You just want them to die, or get rid of in the game, and some parts in the game, they

are useful to you and yeah you want them back and you end up liking them.

And yeah I have done that several times in video games like that, like this.

Yeah, there is a lot of looking around here.

Alright, this going to take a while.

So here we go.

Hey keep please stop, keep your voice down.

What's in here.

Oo gears and shit.

Upgrade, YEAH LOOK AT ALL MY GEARS, that is when I had to restart this whole game again

and find the ones I had from the previous where I didn't left off and didn't save.

I had all those gears left again.

You know the previous game I had to get those again, from the previous.. playthrough.

" GIRLFRIEND WANTING SOMETHING " Okay, Pills, scissors, yeah that is just really weird,

putting a scissor blade, a little bit of a ah rag and it looked like vodka or paint thinner

whatever the hell was in it.

Nothing back there..Nope.

It looks like I'm in a college.

I've have been to community college I love it so much.

I did um a little bit about graphic design.

I love it so much.

Cause you know when I wanted to um, get older I wanted to design games and stuff like that,

It has always been on my mind forever.

Ever since I started playing these types of games, I said to myself you know what I want

to create something like this, I want to make my little own story or make good graphics

and quality like this.

Yeah mae a really good story, because this game has a really good story, I'm not really

understanding why tho.

The story just looks kinda, I feel like it's kinda boring but, If you actually read online

The Last Of Us did something that most games didn't even do.

I don't remember what it was, but yeah, something about this game is really good, the story

for some weird reason and the ah Jesus.

" ANNOYED AT ELLIE" Oh upgrade the scope.

Variable zoom, power definitely get that.

I can probably get everything except the ones that are at level five.

Upgrade all this stuff, cause from the previous gameplay or the previous times where I had

to restart the whole thing, I got extra gears.

Or found all the gears again.

Yeah, range definitely get that.

Draw speed yep.

Range, the only time I'm going to be using the flamethrower is when I see a bloater.

Shorty, if I see an infected or if I run out of pistol ammo I'll just use that.

Clip capacity.

Watch me just upgrade everything and all my gears just be gone.

Fire rate yep, damn I can get another one, clip capacity, you only get one bullet and

the second one I think you only get like two.

Armor Piercing why not.

Or you know what, might as well.

I can get all of this now.

I don't have level five but once I get to level five, I can get everything.

This will hold?

" RESPONDING TO JOEL "This will last you to the whole game the hell you talking about?

I probably have to reload a lot of stuff cause I just got more ammo for most of the guns.

I want to see how far this bow and arrow shoots, hang on, yeah that's a pretty good way.

Yeah that is perfect that is exactly what I need especially when there is a Clicker

or a Runner.

Shiv, I want to try and get shiv master, I know what you are saying I could put a shiv

on this board, but you know, I feel like there is more stuff coming this way.

Clickers, Runners.

I am ready for them.

Ready for anything.

Let's go.

Well if there was a little bit of an indication, yeah you see this right here?

The way he is running, If there was an enemy, this would be like, this would be me walking,

and when I hit L1 this would me sprinting like he's in a damn marathon or something.

Bricks.

A brick, if they are giving me this I just know there is going to be enemies near, or

there is enemies coming up.

Im well prepared, lock and loaded, I almost everything made, Bottle, get out of that shit.

I don't know just Bricks are more powerful.

There is a lot of drawers, a lot of bottles to break, or I could just ignore them.

Ellie you could always look, you light find a comic, or hell you might find a dead body,

you might find a teenage boy who might be you type.

Get that shit outta here!

Yeah I broke it, yeah that's what I do i break everything.

Fungus x-rays, That's about the infection, like how all those people got infected, that's

what has been happening.

Matter of fact how did they get those x-rays, cause as soon as they did, They would have

already been bitten.

There is a lot of stuff to look.

And even tho it glows, I mean even if it still glows, it would still be a thing, but in real

life none of that, like this right here, all that glowing none of that is going to be a

thing in real life.

Lab Recorder I bet this going to take a while.

Might as well.

Oh shit.

At least I didn't mess with those monkeys, matter of fact I probably wouldn't be able

to.

Okay, there is a cabinet right there, or drawer.

What's in here?

Supplies, explosive marrahaeua bag.

Okay, kick that shit open, You can just go right threw the damn glass, look at it.

HUNTERS.

I will leave that in the next video, I love you guys, and I will see y'all in

the next video for where we take on the Hunters, Escape the Lab, and go to Salt Lake City.

Which I think is in Utah.

Yeah, Utah, but anyway we'll take it from there, and I will see y'all in the next video.

Ianisout.

For more infomation >> A MISSED CONNECTION | The Last of Us Remastered # 12 - Duration: 17:12.

-------------------------------------------

「音速」Us - Duration: 1:55.

Raining

Under the umbrella one summer afternoon as a shower passed

Kissing

I gently kissed your wet cheek

I'm still longing for that season

Miss you

The scenes outside my window grow distant

Breezing

I saw a rainbow just barely vanishing

I just hope it doesn't rain tomorrow

I'm at a total loss these days, with my head in the clouds

Nothing but you is a part of me

It's still not enough

It still won't fade away

Innocence remains in the palms of our joined hands

What a good thing we lose

What a bad thing we knew

These phrases soak through me like rain

It's still not enough

I still can't say

The "goodbye" from my dreams, back when I was counting the days

What a good thing we lose

What a bad thing we knew

If we had never touched, would we be smiling now?

For more infomation >> 「音速」Us - Duration: 1:55.

-------------------------------------------

Mr Freeman, part 58 [US] - Duration: 2:41.

Yes, you're right.

I'm quite confident you are the one

...the one who got the message.

Then why do I look at you

like you're a piece of shit?

But do YOU look at people any in other way?

Just relax, groovy brothers.

I understand each one of you.

He wanted to become a musician but instead

cultivates blisters on his butt

from his office chair.

She dreamt of being an actress,

but all she learned is to fake orgasm,

performing all of her greatest dramatic roles

in the kitchen.

So what do we get?

One third of the life goes to sleeping,

another third to eat-shit-laugh,

And the remaining third — to hating the beloved job.

Yet you could have been doing something real,

do you get that?

But where did your precious dream go?

But don't fret, my dears.

See, we're all like that.

Separately, each of us is

a personality with a capital P.

But once there are two of us,

one has to be a piece of shit.

Each one scrutinizes the other

avidly searching

for personality flaws.

Look at 'im, he still lives with his parents!

She got knocked up and now he's gotta marry 'er!

Look at the ancient wheels this doofus drives!

Can you even believe it?!

And she's got no boobs,

and she's growing a mustache!

This unbridled hatred and

scorn that you feel for each other...

This mutual venom is the only thing

that makes you into a unified whole at all.

"I'm a good man surrounded by bad men."

"I am honest surrounded by crooks."

"A genius in a land of fools."

I'm D'Atragnan, and all the rest of you SUCK!"

But if everyone smells like shit to you,

maybe it's because you crapped yourself...

Yet you wonder why it is you seem to always be getting

fucked in your civic hole?

By the government, by mooks from the idiot box,

by all the ass-lickers...

Well how else can you treat a herd

where everyone thinks of each other

as a bunch of moronic idiots?

How hard do you need to be pummeled

and prodded until you

finally see yourselves in others,

and instead of saying Me and Them,

you'll finally say We?

Did they not explain this on prime-time

netrwork TV?

'Course not,

they told you to be unique and nurture

and foster your "otherness", am I right?

Be original! Become the champion of ass sores

at your office!

Or get an Oscar for Best Faked Orgasm!

Cheat your business partners

out of their money!

Tear at each other's throats

arguing about who understood Freeman better!

So...

Tell me,

didjer big fancy collective consciousness...

actually get... the message?

Or do you still feel sure you yourself —

are the chosen one?

For more infomation >> Mr Freeman, part 58 [US] - Duration: 2:41.

-------------------------------------------

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of us at wiwibloggs - Duration: 7:18.

For more infomation >> Merry Christmas and happy holidays from all of us at wiwibloggs - Duration: 7:18.

-------------------------------------------

33 Hour Travel From Asia to the US | Live with Feet Vlog - Duration: 5:32.

For more infomation >> 33 Hour Travel From Asia to the US | Live with Feet Vlog - Duration: 5:32.

-------------------------------------------

Merry Christmas with Japan, Poland and US - Derpballs (Countryballs) - Duration: 2:11.

Careful careful careful

ahh perfect

Good Good, now go scrub my toilets you lazy shhhh

ahhh

God damn it. I'm coming

Yeah

Trick or treat

Yeah. Yeah Trick Trick or Treat. Yeah

what do you mean? it's not it's not Halloween

We don't do trick or treats on Christmas

Yes, it is this Poland yeah, I need I need some cleaning services

Okay, yeah

Mmm, that's some good turkey

now remember kids if

You want some oil just use some I got I got fresh one from the shop this morning

So so use it on salad or or turkey it goes goes good with everything. Okay?

Yeah, here here. Let me

Let me help you with with the oil. Yeah

Tasty

Hello as little Thanks I had a giveaway so here are the two winners

Very nice, very nice

So I'll contact these people and I'll make sure they get the t-shirt. All of you have a nice Christmas

Spend good time with your families. Yeah. See you next year with more animations

For more infomation >> Merry Christmas with Japan, Poland and US - Derpballs (Countryballs) - Duration: 2:11.

-------------------------------------------

Troop drawdowns and Defense Dept. turnover leave U.S. foreign policy in flux - Duration: 8:39.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The president's decision to withdraw forces from Syria, signed yesterday

by Defense Secretary James Mattis, and order the Pentagon to develop plans to withdraw

troops from Afghanistan could dramatically change the path of U.S. foreign policy here

in Washington and overseas, where U.S. troops have been fighting multiple wars.

In the Northern Syrian city of Manbij, American soldiers spent Sunday with their local allies,

and patrolling a local market, exactly what President Trump has ordered them to stop.

A year-and-a-half ago, U.S. troops teamed up with Syrian Kurds to evict ISIS from Manbij

and other former ISIS strongholds.

In total, there are 2,200 Americans in Syria.

And over the last four years, U.S. support to anti-Assad forces and the Iraqi government

and a U.S.-led campaign helped eliminate 99 percent of ISIS' territory across Syria and

Iraq.

But the main U.S. ground ally, Syrian Kurds, are seen by Turkey as an enemy.

And, today, Turkish television broadcast footage of a military convoy deploying to the Syrian

border.

The Syrian Kurds warn they may have defend an imminent Turkish attack, and stop fighting

ISIS terrorists, the head of their political wing, Ilham Ahmad, said this weekend.

ILHAM AHMAD, Co-President, Syrian Democratic Council (through translator): Even when the

Americans were not in the region, we were already fighting terrorism.

We will continue our mission, but this will be difficult because our forces will have

to withdraw from the front to deploy along the Turkish border to repel any attack.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But President Trump says the U.S. withdrawal is slow and highly coordinated

with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

And, today, Mr. Trump tweeted that Erdogan promised to -- quote -- "eradicate whatever

is left of is in Syria.

And he is a man who can do it.

Plus, Turkey is right next door.

Our troops are coming home."

BRETT MCGURK, Former Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter

ISIL: Even as the end of the physical caliphate is clearly now coming into sight, the end

of ISIS will be a much more long-term initiative.

NICK SCHIFRIN: That was the U.S.' top anti-ISIS official, Brett McGurk, just last week.

This weekend, McGurk accelerated his February departure to protest the president's decision.

McGurk argued the U.S. should stay in Syria, and better coordinate with allies, to ensure

ISIS' defeat.

BRETT MCGURK: Nobody is declaring a mission accomplished.

Defeating a physical caliphate is one phase of a much longer-term campaign.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But the president opposes that kind of stabilization campaign in Syria and

in Afghanistan, where U.S. officials say President Trump wants to cut the 14,000 troops in half.

Most U.S. troops help train Afghan forces, and serve as a symbol to support the Afghan

government.

Others fight ISIS and the Taliban, helping create leverage in nascent peace talks between

the Taliban and lead U.S. negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad.

But President Trump says the U.S. will not support long-term military relationships without

something in return.

"We are substantially subsidizing the militaries of many very rich countries all over the world,

while at the same time these countries take total advantage of the U.S. and our taxpayers

on trade," he tweeted today.

"General Mattis didn't see this as a problem.

I do, and it is being fixed."

Secretary of Defense James Mattis wanted to stay until February, but this weekend the

president said he would leave next week, and replaced by deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick

Shanahan.

Let's explore what all this means with Wall Street Journal national security reporter

Nancy Youssef.

Nancy Youssef, welcome to the "NewsHour.

Thank you so much for being here.

NANCY YOUSSEF, The Wall Street Journal: Great to be with you.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Let's start with Syria.

The president used the words slow and coordinated.

What does that look like, most likely?

NANCY YOUSSEF: Well, that's actually an issue that's changing even as we speak, because,

when these talks started, the U.S. was talking about leaving Syrian 30 days.

And now we are with starting to hear of a timeline that is as long as 120 days.

And rather than just sort of precipitous withdrawal or drawdown, we are starting to hear talks

about Marine General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meeting with

his Turkish counterparts.

We're hearing about ways that possibly the U.S. could continue some form of its airstrike

campaign in support of the coalition, and really coming up with a specific plan which

would allow potentially for U.S. troops to go in temporarily, rather than picking up

everything and leaving, so that the plan would be such that the U.S. can, in some way, support

its Kurdish partners on the ground and try to protect its gains against the Islamic State,

and even maybe finish off the last remnants there in the days and the weeks ahead.

NICK SCHIFRIN: So the president has said not that the U.S. is going to finish off ISIS,

but that Turkey is going to finish off ISIS.

He said that in a couple tweets.

But is there any evidence that Turkey actually intends to do that or wants to target ISIS,

rather than what it considers its enemy, the Syrian Kurds?

NANCY YOUSSEF: Well, the challenge for the Turks even before that is, it's not clear

that they have the military capability to go all the way down to where ISIS is, nearly

200 miles from the Turkish border.

When they were in Afrin, which is much, much closer, they were really challenged by some

of the logistics of conducting such a military operation.

So there's that.

And, as you point out, even if they were able to do it, it's not clear that they see ISIS

as a preeminent threat.

They have stated that they see the U.S.' Kurdish partners, members of the Syrian Democratic

Forces, as a terrorist group.

And so the idea that they would come in and work hand in hand the way the U.S. has with

the Kurdish partners seems very, very unlikely.

These are people they have literally called terrorists.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And the U.S., though, have required the Kurds, they have needed the Kurds,

they have allied absolutely with the Kurds.

What are the Syrian Kurds' options right now?

Could they even actually turn to the Assad government and form some sort of alliance

there?

NANCY YOUSSEF: We're already starting hear -- but let me just start by saying they're

still fighting ISIS, and they're not fighting mean necessarily out of loyalty to the United

States, but to protect themselves, because they're on the front lines of that war.

And we have started to hear that they're talking with the Assad regime.

We have had members of the SDF, the Syrian Democratic Forces, in Moscow and in Paris

trying to negotiate.

And what they're saying is, we're working with anybody we can to fill the vacuum that

will be created when the Americans leave to protect our own interests.

And so there's a scenario where they reach a deal with the Assad regime and the Assad

regime then reaches a deal with partners like Russia to come up with some sort of exit and

what a plan for what Northeast Syria looks like, who is where, who controls what.

NICK SCHIFRIN: All right, so we got to do Syria and also Afghanistan.

So, we have got about 14,000 troops right there right now.

U.S. officials have talked about cutting that in half to 7,000.

What kind of talk is there, if any, yet of the specifics of that withdrawal?

NANCY YOUSSEF: So what's interesting is, we have been hearing for a long time that the

Trump administration was looking for some sort of withdrawal plan out of Afghanistan,

but in coordination with the ongoing peace talks being led by Zalmay Khalilzad.

What's happened now is that the United States has sort of jumped ahead of those peace talks

and said it has plans to withdraw half of its troops.

There's -- there are plans that could start that withdrawal as early as January.

The problem is, one of the key components of the peace talks for the Taliban was coming

up with some sort of number for U.S. troops leaving.

And the U.S. now essentially said, we are going to give up half, without having gotten

anything out of the Taliban.

So it really raises questions, if we're already down by 7,000, could the Taliban negotiate

something where that number drops even further?

NICK SCHIFRIN: And, lastly, we have a new acting secretary of defense, Deputy Secretary

of Defense Shanahan, very little government experience, was at Boeing.

More aligned perhaps with the president?

NANCY YOUSSEF: We don't know, because he's really a businessman.

He has run the day-to-day operations.

He's focused on business and the relationship between the business community and the Pentagon.

And even in his confirmation hearing, he said, I'm here to complement the secretary of defense,

Mattis, who will take care of policy.

I will take care of business, and, in fact, stumbled a little bit when answering policy

questions during his confirmation hearings about Ukraine.

So, we don't know.

That said, he has supported the president in his effort to create the Space Force.

He is aligned with the president in terms of fixing things financially and putting the

focus back on budgets and not on putting troops on the front lines.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And very quickly, in the time we have left, Secretary Mattis is trying to

be professional at this moment, even though this is not a normal moment for the White

House and the Department of Defense.

What about his staff?

Is there a level of anger?

And will they stick around to help Secretary Shanahan?

NANCY YOUSSEF: The indications right now are not, that a lot of people said that they joined

the department when they did to work for Secretary Mattis, and they're already indications that

as many as a dozen could be gone in the week ahead.

And so that's a real challenge, because, as we have discussed, Secretary Shanahan doesn't

have policy experience.

And he will lose a lot of experience with Secretary Mattis' departure.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Nancy Youssef of The Wall Street Journal, thank you so much.

NANCY YOUSSEF: My pleasure.

For more infomation >> Troop drawdowns and Defense Dept. turnover leave U.S. foreign policy in flux - Duration: 8:39.

-------------------------------------------

Why the Trump administration's response to falling stocks left the markets more jittery - Duration: 7:07.

NICK SCHIFRIN: There was no Christmas Eve gift for investors, shareholders, retirees

or the jittery markets.

Today was the worst trading day ever on a Christmas Eve.

And it comes after the markets finished their worst trading week since the 2008 financial

crisis.

Slower growth, higher interest rates, lower profits, a shutdown and trade wars, there's

plenty to worry investors.

But as William Brangham tells us, the president and his team seem to be adding to that anxiety.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Heading into today, several of the major stock indexes were already in

bear market territory for the first time in a decade.

That includes the Nasdaq and the Standard & Poor's 500.

A bear market is when an index drops 20 percent from a recent high.

Then, over the weekend, there were new revelations that further unnerved investors.

President Trump was reportedly considering firing the chairman of the Federal Reserve,

Jay Powell.

Administration officials have since denied the president had any such intention.

But the president again went after the Fed today, tweeting -- quote -- "The only problem

our economy has is the Fed.

They don't have a feel for the market."

On top of that, yesterday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin issued this puzzling statement,

saying he'd spoken with the heads of the biggest U.S. banks to reiterate the strength of the

financial system and to confirm their reserves of cash for lending.

To many, this hearkened back to a concern not seen since the Great Recession in 2008.

Annie Lowrey watches all this for "The Atlantic."

And she joins me now from New York.

Annie, thank you for being here.

You wrote a column in "The Atlantic" where you were describing this letter that Mnuchin

put out yesterday, and equated it to going to the doctor when you have the symptoms of

a head cold, your doctor can't stop talking about cancer, and how alarming that is.

I mean, what do you think the secretary was up to?

ANNIE LOWREY, "The Atlantic": Yes.

So it would be quite normal for the treasury secretary to talk to the heads of big banks.

This is something that happens all the time, that isn't surprising.

But the Treasury put out this press release on a weekend, before a holiday, assuring market

participants that nothing was happening, indicating that there was some kind of financial crisis

or liquidity crisis at the big banks, which is not something that anybody was worried

about.

We're in a very kind of classic vanilla bear market, but there's no signs that the nation's

banks are teetering or that we have to have those kind of 2007-2008 worries again.

And so it's a very weird statement.

And it, frankly, like, unnerved a lot of market participants, who are like, does Secretary

Mnuchin see something thing that we don't see, is there something that we're missing?

Because this just seems like a down market.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I guess that's just a mystery we will have to wait and find out about.

What is it, do you think, is really going on with the market?

We have seen this very precipitous drop.

What do you think is driving that?

ANNIE LOWREY: There are a number of fundamental issues that the market is responding to.

So, first and perhaps most important, the Fed is raising interest rates.

That's increasing borrowing costs.

It's slowing the economy down.

The markets are pricing that in.

And it's starting to show up in terms of decreasing home sales, decreasing car sales, perhaps

increasing defaults.

We have problems in a number of kind of financial markets.

So the leverage loan market, for instance, is having some issues, where people are losing

some money.

All of this is somewhat to be expected, though, right?

Like, we have been in a bull market for 10 years.

And this is seen as being kind of a natural correction.

People are also concerned about Donald Trump's trade war.

They are concerned about uncertainty emanating from Washington.

They are concerned about slowing global growth.

All of these things are affecting the markets, and they might indicate that the U.S. economy

might slow down.

But, again, that's very different from being in the sort of situation that Mnuchin was

gesturing to, where you might have a kind of financial crisis, and be worried about

the stability and the safety of American financial institutions themselves.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The president today, as we saw, was tweeting that the only problem

the economy has is the Federal Reserve and their announcement that they're upping interest

rates.

What do you think is going on there?

Is the president simply trying to find someone to blame for this stock market decline?

ANNIE LOWREY: Absolutely.

The president has, quite unusually, seen a rising market as being a sign of his success.

He points to a rising market as being a good indicator of economic health, which it really

isn't.

And, therefore, he's looking for somebody to blame now that the market is going down.

It's really important to note that the Federal Reserve is not responsible for the market

going up.

It doesn't see the market going up as being its responsibility.

It is responsible for two things, and two things only, price stability and unemployment.

And both of those things are looking pretty good.

So that happening within the context of a healthy financial sector means that the Fed

is going to continue probably raising rates, unless we start to see those signs of the

economy itself slowing down.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But does the president or some of his allies who agree with the criticism

of the Fed that there is -- there might be some underlying factors?

I mean, there is a sense that the global economy is slowing down, and that maybe we might see

those ripple effects fairly soon, and that maybe raising interest rates is not the best

idea.

ANNIE LOWREY: Certainly.

And I think that if you started to see the unemployment rate go up, inflation to drop,

growth to slow down, those kind of things would absolutely give the Fed pause.

But the markets going down and Donald Trump's sort of yelling at the Fed is not something

that's really going to change their path.

Right now, I think that the markets concerned about instability emanating from Washington

from the Trump administration itself.

And one thing that happened with Secretary Mnuchin's statement, talking to market participants,

is that they were weirded out by it, and they felt like it was symbolic of the kind of shambolic

state of government, inexperience at the Treasury.

And so that statement alone kind of freaked them out, along with all of the tweets that

Donald Trump has been making, the government shutdown, this general sense of chaos emanating

from Washington.

So I do think that uncertainty is sort of playing into the animal spirits here.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I want to touch on something you referenced before.

Then I'm wondering if we are making too much of this stock market decline, because, as

you say, we have had 10 years of a truly incredible market, and now we have had three months of

a bad stock market.

But 10 years vs. three months, that that's an unequal ratio.

ANNIE LOWREY: Absolutely.

Markets go up, they go down.

There's nothing right now to indicate that this is much more than a soft patch.

The economy might slow down.

We might even enter recession.

But right now, this is really just a bear market, a correction in the market.

And we would need more data to indicate that there was sort of a deeper underlying problem

just than stocks kind of selling off and investors losing some money.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right, Annie Lowrey of "The Atlantic," thanks for coming in on

Christmas Eve.

ANNIE LOWREY: Thanks for having me.

For more infomation >> Why the Trump administration's response to falling stocks left the markets more jittery - Duration: 7:07.

-------------------------------------------

MIGRANT CARAVAN LATEST NEWS TODAY Dec 24, 18 . shutdown continues DEMOCRATS AGAINST US BORDER WALL ! - Duration: 12:08.

For more infomation >> MIGRANT CARAVAN LATEST NEWS TODAY Dec 24, 18 . shutdown continues DEMOCRATS AGAINST US BORDER WALL ! - Duration: 12:08.

-------------------------------------------

World War 3: Iran says it's ready for offensive against US as navy ship enters Gulf - DAILY NEWS - Duration: 3:01.

World War 3: Iran says it's ready for offensive against US as navy ship enters Gulf

IRAN has said Tehran is prepared to respond to any hostile US action after a navy ship

entered the Gulf and fears of World War Three heighten.

The USS John C. Stennis entered the Gulf on Friday as tensions continue to rise and reach

unprecedented levels between Tehran and Washington.

A war of words began between the two countries after President Donald Trump took America

out of a nuclear deal with Iran in May and imposed sanctions on its banking and energy

sectors.

The ship is the first in the region since President Trump's decision to withdraw from

the Iran nuclear deal.

Iranian navy commander, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari has said that this aircraft does not

pose a significant threat.

He said to the Iranian Students News Agency news agency: "The presence of this warship

is insignificant to us.

"We will not allow this warship to come near our territorial waters in the Persian

Gulf."

The navy commander said the US navy was able to sail in international waters near Iran

as the Iranian navy could also sail in the Atlantic Ocean near US waters.

He said: "They do not have the courage or ability to take any measures against us.

We have enough capabilities to stand against their actions and we have fully rehearsed

for that."

The commander also said that Iran was on alert for possible threats, saying: " Iran's elite

Revolutionary Guards launched war games in the Gulf on Saturday in which naval vessels,

helicopters, drones, rocket launchers and commando units took part."

Guards' spokesman Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif said on Monday: "The Persian Gulf and

the Gulf of Oman has had more safety and security in the last 10 months in the absence of a

U.S. aircraft carrier."

Former counter-terrorism specialist John Stennis has said aircrafts carriers are a "show

of force to pre-empt any aggressive action by Iran".

He said:"Aircraft carriers are always moved around to wherever there is any possibility

of conflict.

"If Iran does try to interfere with traffic or even block the straits there will be a

response from the US and its Arab allies in the Gulf.

"I believe they would hit a target that is military, much like the cruise missile launches

in Syria, to serve as a warning.

In the past few years, there have been confrontations between the Revolutionary Guards and the US

military in the Gulf, but these incidents have decreased.

President Trump accused Iran of breaking the spirit of the Iran nuclear agreement by continuing

to develop long ranged missiles and backing terror groups across the Middle East.

For more infomation >> World War 3: Iran says it's ready for offensive against US as navy ship enters Gulf - DAILY NEWS - Duration: 3:01.

-------------------------------------------

Ashley Gets 50 Shades Of Drunk | The Bachelor US - Duration: 4:03.

Do we need me to start dancing Ashley as we say in the South bless her heart

she she's obliterated am I wrong she brought a tie why did she bring a

tie she's gonna do like a fifty Shades of

Grey same with him and she's gonna tie him up

is that what's in the book did you read it but I don't know she can tie anything

thank you Ashley a new Fifty Shades of Grey and

her booty dancin I don't even know what to think right

now she just needs a lot of water water people hello okay still for a minute

where you give me like one more minute 30 seconds yeah you get 30 sec I'll do

that I'm yeah so seriously though like what's going on with all the roses

um honestly I just kind of spur the moment type of deal and exactly exactly

and even if I don't give a rose it doesn't necessarily mean one thing or

the other there's still rose ceremony yeah so nice

to get to meet you nice to meet you too I'll talk to you later okay sounds good

CUC I mean hi I'm so scared for him right

now to go see them I'm so scared for him you look fantastic and I have not

forgotten about the tie I oh you still have it

I also brought her a rape whistle in case I'm in trouble

she gonna start taking her clothes off when you got dumped by Emily I called my

mom and I said mom that guy is the guy that I'm gonna marry really Shh okay

since that day Ashley are you ready to meet my

son-in-law I said mom I said mom I saw Ashley P that girl's a trip so you know

my mom already loves you I don't even know where to start with her she is a

lot to take in so you're gonna talk no no I'm glad your mom accepts me and we

may need to learn a little bit more about each other before we get married

but that's a good start so let me walk you inside okay Fifty Shades of Grey may

have become Fifty Shades of drunk tonight

you okay I think I'd go home on the first night no I put myself out there

more than I ever would obviously it scared Sean away yeah it sucks like a

little bit of a bum ski but now I'm gonna go home to Detroit and I can't

wait cuz the next lucky guy gets this time Sean if I could I would whip your

ass sorry Sean that candle totally missed out on 100%

of this Barbie ass oh poor Sean could have totally Hey look what you're

missing out on chai

mom don't be mad

you

For more infomation >> Ashley Gets 50 Shades Of Drunk | The Bachelor US - Duration: 4:03.

-------------------------------------------

Need a Federal Reserve Chairman who's going to say that everything's going to be okay: UBS Senior... - Duration: 3:16.

For more infomation >> Need a Federal Reserve Chairman who's going to say that everything's going to be okay: UBS Senior... - Duration: 3:16.

-------------------------------------------

U.S. district judge awards family of Otto Warmbier $500 million - Duration: 0:23.

For more infomation >> U.S. district judge awards family of Otto Warmbier $500 million - Duration: 0:23.

-------------------------------------------

US Coast Guard calls off search for father and son whose small plane crashed into the ocean Daily - Duration: 4:50.

US Coast Guard calls off search for father and son whose small plane crashed into the ocean Daily

The US Coast Guard has called off it search on Sunday for a missing father and son whose plane disappeared off the coast of after a trip to Walt Disney World.

After searching for 56 hours and covering 1,400 square miles, there was no sign of 51 year old Peter Renzulli and his 19 year old son Daniel, of Bridgewater, New Jersey.

The Piper PA 46 departed from Orlando on Thursday morning and was heading towards Princeton Airport.

About 30 minutes into the flight, the plane disappeared from the radar. A distress call around 9.45am was made to the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, which in turn notified the Coast Guard.

The US Coast Guard called off it search for Peter Renzulli, 51 left , and his son Daniel, 19 right, with his sister , after their plane disappeared off the coast of Florida. The two had been vacationing at Walt Disney World in Florida and were heading back home to Bridgewater, New Jersey

The Piper PA 46 file image departed from Orlando on Thursday morning and was heading towards Princeton Airport. About 30 minutes into the flight, the plane disappeared from the radar

Aviation records, viewed by , showed the plane was registered in Texas. 

The website also reported that FlightAware.com, an online flight tracker, showed the plane reached an altitude of 22,000 feet before plummeting at a rapid speed.

Despite several boats and helicopters being deployed by the Coast Guard, there was no sign of the aircraft or of the two men. 

The suspension of an active search and rescue case is never an easy decision to make, Christopher Eddy, search and rescue mission coordinator for the Coast Guard 7th district, said in a statement. 

We always want the best case scenario to happen and will continue to monitor for new information that could aid responders. 

The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the incident. 

A distress call was received by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, which notified the US Coast Guard. On Sunday, the Coast Guard called off the search after a 56 hour hunt that covered 1,400 square miles. Pictured: Daniel, left, and Peter in 2013

Its unclear who was piloting the Piper PA 46, but Peter had completed 30 hours of advanced training in the aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the incident. Pictured: Daniel, left, and Peter, right

The family was devastated to learn that the aircraft could not be located, Justin Marchetta, a Parsippany aviation attorney, said in a statement. 

Peter and Daniel are accomplished pilots and their disappearance is heartbreaking. 

We ask that the privacy of the Renzulli family be respected at this difficult time and we ask that those following this story keep the Renzullis in their thoughts and prayers.

Marchetta said the father and son had recently been in Orlando on vacation at Walt Disney World.

Although it is unclear whether Peter or Daniel was piloting the plane, the family said Peter had undergone more than 30 hours of the raining in the aircraft that disappeared.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Peter was a certified public accountant with the firm Bookkeepers2Go and an adjunct professor at Rutgers University.

Daniel graduated Bridgewater Raritan High School this past June and was in his freshman year at Michigan State University, according to his Facebook page. 

The comments below have not been moderated.

By posting your comment you agree to our .

Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?

Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.

Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?

Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual

We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. Well ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.

You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our .

Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday Metro Media Group

For more infomation >> US Coast Guard calls off search for father and son whose small plane crashed into the ocean Daily - Duration: 4:50.

-------------------------------------------

Judge orders North Korea to pay Warmbier family dollar 500 million for wrongful death - Duration: 3:25.

Judge orders North Korea to pay Warmbier family dollar 500 million for wrongful death

A federal judge in Washington awarded the parents of Otto Warmbier more than half a billion dollars in a wrongful death suit against the North Korean government, which detained and allegedly tortured the college student over 17 months before returning him to the US last year, where he died days later.

In an opinion issued on Christmas Eve, District Judge Beryl A. Howell quoted emotional lines of testimony from Warmbiers mother and recounted grim details of his treatment in North Korea that underpinned the judgment.

"An American family, the Warmbiers, experienced North Koreas brutality first-hand when North Korea seized their son to use as a pawn in that totalitarian states global shenanigans and face-off with the United States," Howell wrote.

RELATED: Otto Warmbiers parents stand up to evil in suing North Korea for his death

North Korean officials detained Warmbier in 2016 as he tried to leave the country after spending five days there on a commercial tour. Warmbier, then a student at the University of Virginia, was accused by the government of stealing a political poster from a restricted floor in his hotel.

Warmbier returned to the United States in June of 2017 after negotiations led by the Trump administration. Then 22 years old, Warmbier was blind and deaf and had sustained severe brain damage from his time in detention. He died less than a week later in his hometown of Cincinnati.

In a statement Monday, Fred and Cindy Warmbier thanked Howell and called the decision a "significant step on our journey."

"We are thankful that the United States has a fair and open judicial system so that the world can see that the Kim regime is legally and morally responsible for Ottos death. We put ourselves and our family through the ordeal of a lawsuit and public trial because we promised Otto that we will never rest until we have justice for him," they said in the statement.

"As a family, mother, father, sister and brother, we would like to thank all those who knew and loved Otto, and for all those who supported us and our mission to hold Kim liable for his actions," they said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The damages awarded to the Warmbiers included $45 million for pain, suffering and grief, and more than $6 million in economic losses that Otto Warmbier would have earned in life based on his exceptional talent, according to an economists model.

Howell wrote in her opinion that the Warmbiers had established "ample evidence" that the damages requested in their suit, which was brought under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act in April, met statutory requirements because they arose from "North Koreas barbaric mistreatment of Otto, including torture, hostage taking, and extrajudicial killing. "

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman denied that Warmbier had been tortured while in North Korean custody, according to a 2017 report by the countrys state-run news agency KCNA.

Howells ruling does not guarantee an immediate windfall for the Warmbiers, however.

North Korea did not respond to the lawsuit -- Howells opinion was rendered as a so-called "default judgment" -- and the country has no free assets in the US that the family could make a claim for.

Any damages eventually won by the Warmbiers would likely come from North Koreas frozen US assets, which amounted to about $63 million in 2017, according to the Treasury Departments Terrorist Assets Report, and those potential payments would be limited to the compensatory damages in Howells opinion -- a narrow portion of their larger award.

Requests for comment sent to North Korean officials in New York were not answered.

Steven Perles, an attorney who has won billion-dollar Foreign Soverign Immunities Act judgments for victims of terror attacks, said these cases are brought not for the money, but for the "deterrent value."

"Its not about enriching the Warmbiers here. Nothing can bring their son back, nothing can compensate them," Perles said. "But if they can really take money away from the North Koreans, maybe the North Koreans or some other would-be bad actor would think twice before doing this to somebody else. Thats the only reason you do this."

A few hours after Howells opinion was published, President Donald Trump said Monday afternoon that he had been briefed by his team working on North Korea and he was looking forward to a second summit with Kim. He made no mention of the judgment.

"Christmas Eve briefing with my team working on North Korea -- Progress being made. Looking forward to my next summit with Chairman Kim!" Trump said on Twitter.

For more infomation >> Judge orders North Korea to pay Warmbier family dollar 500 million for wrongful death - Duration: 3:25.

-------------------------------------------

US court orders North Korea to pay dollar 500m in Otto Warmbiers death - Duration: 1:11.

US court orders North Korea to pay dollar 500m in Otto Warmbiers death

Judge awards punitive damages and payments covering medical expenses, economic loss and pain to students parents.

A federal judge in the United States has ordered Pyongyang to pay $501m in a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of Otto Warmbier, a US college student who died last year shortly after being released from North Korea.

US District Judge Beryl Howell on Monday harshly condemned North Korea for "barbaric mistreatment" of Warmbier in agreeing with his family that the country should be held liable for his death in June 2017.

She awarded punitive damages and payments covering medical expenses, economic loss and pain and suffering to Fred and Cindy Warmbier, who alleged that their son had been held hostage and tortured.

For more infomation >> US court orders North Korea to pay dollar 500m in Otto Warmbiers death - Duration: 1:11.

-------------------------------------------

US led coalition strikes ISIS targets in Syria, several hundred fighters removed - Duration: 1:20.

US led coalition strikes ISIS targets in Syria, several hundred fighters removed

The US-led combined joint task force fighting ISIS announced Tuesday that it continued airstrikes and coordinated attacks in Syria, days after President Donald Trumps decision to begin the withdrawal of US troops in the country.

Operation Inherent Resolve continued supporting its partner forces with "precision air strikes and coordinated fires to make further progress" against ISIS in Syria, the coalition said in a statement.

The coalition said the coordinated attacks, launched from December 16-22, "severely degraded" the terrorist groups logistics facilities and staging areas and "removed several hundred ISIS fighters from the battlefield."

The airstrikes also targeted ISIS financial centers in eastern Syria, delivering a "significant blow" to its ability to finance terrorist activities, the coalition said.

"ISIS presents a very real threat to the long-term stability in this region and our mission remains the same, the enduring defeat of ISIS," UK Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, the deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement Tuesday.

The statement comes after Trumps declaration last week that ISIS has been defeated and his announcement that the US would begin the "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of its roughly 2,000 troops in Syria. Trumps decision led in part to the resignation of his Defense Secretary James Mattis and his top diplomat for the global coalition to counter ISIS.