Latest news with #Christmas'
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'I use trauma of my dad's death to help children'
A woman whose father died when she was 10 said it inspired her to help children who found themselves in foster care. Sheena, from Lancashire, lost her husband in a crash when her children were aged 10 and 12. Foster carer Sheena said enduring personal tragedies means she has been able to help others though trauma. Lancashire County Council said despite being a foster care for only a year she has transformed the life of a young girl. The 57-year-old said: "We have come through some tough times as a family and this is why l wanted to foster to give hope, love and happiness to another child." Sheena added: "It was hard for my children, but l was able to help them through it by talking about it and not keeping feelings inside. "We have photos up all over the house of both my dad and my husband. "We have come through some tough times as a family and this is why l wanted to foster to give hope, love and happiness to another child. "l have had enough trauma to help children through theirs." The county council she has made a "huge difference" to an eight-year-old in her care. Emily - not the girl's real name - had lived in several different homes before living with Sheena. She has now settled in school and has gone from being unable to read or write to enjoying reading books and practising her spellings. Sheena said: "What Emily really needed was stability and a family to be there for her. "She has needed one-on-one time and support to help her at school and it's made a world of difference. "Her behaviour has also improved, and I think having rules, boundaries and a structure has been the making of her." Sheena added: "What she's really craved is love and affection, which we've showered her with. "Emily tells us she loves being part of a family of her own, and as a tomboy she enjoys playing football with my son. "This older-brother relationship is a great benefit." She said her daughter and her daughter's partner would look after Emily to give Sheena a break so she could see her friends. Her daughter also does extra tutoring with Emily. Last year, Lancashire became one of nine regions across the UK to open the Foster With Us Hub, with the aim of local authorities working together to help recruit, share resources and provide more support for foster carers. In turn, it is hoped more people will be willing and able to foster. According to the latest government data, there was a 4% drop in foster carers in north-west England in the last year. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. 'We thought we were too young to be foster carers' Council to increase fostering cash incentive 'My foster kids had never celebrated Christmas' Super foster mum says she will never stop 'Becoming a foster parent made me a better person' Lancashire County Council
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Christmas in May' for Gigi's Playhouse
(WSYR-TV) — I'm sure you've heard of the concept, 'Christmas in July.' Well, this year, 'Christmas' is coming even earlier. 'Christmas in May' is the theme for this year's Gigi's Playhouse 5k and mile walk; part of the Gigi FIT Acceptance Challenge. Brielle Daily and Amy Cavallaro joined Bridge Street Tuesday morning to preview the event and to explain the importance of Gigi's Playhouse for individuals with autism and their families. The Gigi FIT Acceptance Challenge is Sunday, May 18th at Long Branch Park. If you would like to find out more information, or if you would like to register, head to Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - Trump's trade war is an actual ‘War on Christmas'
'Tis the season of giving… hugs? President Trump's support might not have wavered too much with his voters after the last few weeks of stock and bond market volatility. But his Achilles heel might reveal itself this December. As he continues to yo-yo on tariffs from a 145 percent tariff rate one day to exempting smartphones and computers the next, Americans are unsure of how to prepare. Should we stock up now on non-perishable items? Should we upgrade the phone? Is now a bad time to trade in your car? However, there is a bigger specter that is sure to cause Trump and his administration to lose sleep. It is the ghost of the Christmas season. Republicans have been trying to convince Americans about some mythological 'War on Christmas' that liberals have been waging for decades. Conservatives have howled that the immigrants who have come into this country aren't Christian and professed that liberals have engaged in a concerted agenda to somehow brainwash kids into thinking that Christmas is some random day. Of course, Republicans, for all their hysteria, get to watch as every year as Americans from all backgrounds regardless of religion, politics or location go all out to celebrate Christmas. Muslims will volunteer to deliver gifts and take their kids to see Christmas lights. Hindus have begun to adopt the holiday and decorate their houses. (One of my neighbors got into hot water with the HOA for trying to roll over his Diwali lights into Christmas lights). And for all their alleged anger over being forced to say 'Merry Christmas,' liberals go back home to family, buy presents and put up all the Christmas décor. It's often been said we are not as different as our politicians make us out to be, and the best evidence for this is Christmastime. Conservatives might still be mad we are missing the 'reason for the season,' but there is an undeniable truth. Americans love to celebrate Christmas, and we open up our wallets. In 2024, Americans came close to a whopping $1 trillion on holiday spending with the average American spending around $1,000 personally. Almost three fourths of that spending is on holiday gifts. The rest is for items like trees, food, candy, Christmas cards, lights and activities. Personal holiday spending has more than doubled in the last 20 years. When it comes to personal spending on Christmas, the United States is third overall only behind Canada and Germany. But when it comes to percentage of holiday spending on presents, the U.S. is practically tied with the U.K. for the lead. Breaking down spending by region, Republicans might be annoyed to learn that Americans, regardless of where they live, spend about the same per person. Southern households spend the least, but that's only $100 less than in the Northeast, where households spends the most. We start shopping early in October and are starting to move our online shopping even more to websites like Amazon. Almost 40 percent of presents are bought on Amazon. Where do most of these items come from? Our trading 'frenemy,' China, which exported about $3 billion worth of Christmas-related items, not including presents. All the lights, wreaths, ornaments, artificial trees and advent calendars come from the country against which we are fighting a trade war. This means that Americans can now count on spending more this Christmas season. When it comes to the holidays, we are deeply traditional. We like to have our families eat the same foods, play the same games, decorate at the same time, travel to the same place and we like to do this year after year. What we don't like is when there are deviations from those plans. While conservatives have fantasized about liberals and immigrants trying to stop Christmas from happening, we will now have the reality that Christmas might be very different this year thanks to President Trump. There is a certain chance that 145 percent increases on Chinese imports will have an adverse effect on spending. You might want to take up Trump's pseudo-patriotic notion that we collectively have to pay more now in order to have a bright future later, but will Americans be willing to sacrifice good tidings and joy because we have to have a trade war? The most insane thing about this is that Christmas is eight months away and Americans have no idea what the prices of goods will be then, much less next week. Trump's trade war strategy of just making things up and backing off when his decisions backfire won't ease consumer confidence and will definitely play havoc on the holidays. We will have no idea of when the best time to purchase that video game console would be, if we should just pay extra for permanent lights, how much inventory stores will have, if the gifts we order on Amazon will be backlogged, or what our holiday budget should be. We don't know if we will get Christmas bonuses or if our companies will have profits to share. We have no idea how bad our stock portfolios will be and how much income we will generate this year. Now, of course, we will find a way to make the best out of things. It is in our nature and part of our culture. We adapt to adversity remarkable well as a culture. However, we still hate changes to the things we enjoy the most. If Trump continues his trade war, he will most certainly finally start the war on Christmas that Republicans have been warning about. Jos Joseph is a master's candidate at the Harvard Extension School at Harvard University. He is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and lives in Anaheim, Calif. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
14-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Trump's trade war is an actual ‘War on Christmas'
'Tis the season of giving… hugs? President Trump's support might not have wavered too much with his voters after the last few weeks of stock and bond market volatility. But his Achilles heel might reveal itself this December. As he continues to yo-yo on tariffs from a 145 percent tariff rate one day to exempting smartphones and computers the next, Americans are unsure of how to prepare. Should we stock up now on non-perishable items? Should we upgrade the phone? Is now a bad time to trade in your car? However, there is a bigger specter that is sure to cause Trump and his administration to lose sleep. It is the ghost of the Christmas season. Republicans have been trying to convince Americans about some mythological 'War on Christmas' that liberals have been waging for decades. Conservatives have howled that the immigrants who have come into this country aren't Christian and professed that liberals have engaged in a concerted agenda to somehow brainwash kids into thinking that Christmas is some random day. Of course, Republicans, for all their hysteria, get to watch as every year as Americans from all backgrounds regardless of religion, politics or location go all out to celebrate Christmas. Muslims will volunteer to deliver gifts and take their kids to see Christmas lights. Hindus have begun to adopt the holiday and decorate their houses. (One of my neighbors got into hot water with the HOA for trying to roll over his Diwali lights into Christmas lights). And for all their alleged anger over being forced to say 'Merry Christmas,' liberals go back home to family, buy presents and put up all the Christmas décor. It's often been said we are not as different as our politicians make us out to be, and the best evidence for this is Christmastime. Conservatives might still be mad we are missing the 'reason for the season,' but there is an undeniable truth. Americans love to celebrate Christmas, and we open up our wallets. In 2024, Americans came close to a whopping $1 trillion on holiday spending with the average American spending around $1,000 personally. Almost three fourths of that spending is on holiday gifts. The rest is for items like trees, food, candy, Christmas cards, lights and activities. Personal holiday spending has more than doubled in the last 20 years. When it comes to personal spending on Christmas, the United States is third overall only behind Canada and Germany. But when it comes to percentage of holiday spending on presents, the U.S. is practically tied with the U.K. for the lead. Breaking down spending by region, Republicans might be annoyed to learn that Americans, regardless of where they live, spend about the same per person. Southern households spend the least, but that's only $100 less than in the Northeast, where households spends the most. We start shopping early in October and are starting to move our online shopping even more to websites like Amazon. Almost 40 percent of presents are bought on Amazon. Where do most of these items come from? Our trading 'frenemy,' China, which exported about $3 billion worth of Christmas-related items, not including presents. All the lights, wreaths, ornaments, artificial trees and advent calendars come from the country against which we are fighting a trade war. This means that Americans can now count on spending more this Christmas season. When it comes to the holidays, we are deeply traditional. We like to have our families eat the same foods, play the same games, decorate at the same time, travel to the same place and we like to do this year after year. What we don't like is when there are deviations from those plans. While conservatives have fantasized about liberals and immigrants trying to stop Christmas from happening, we will now have the reality that Christmas might be very different this year thanks to President Trump. There is a certain chance that 145 percent increases on Chinese imports will have an adverse effect on spending. You might want to take up Trump's pseudo-patriotic notion that we collectively have to pay more now in order to have a bright future later, but will Americans be willing to sacrifice good tidings and joy because we have to have a trade war? The most insane thing about this is that Christmas is eight months away and Americans have no idea what the prices of goods will be then, much less next week. Trump's trade war strategy of just making things up and backing off when his decisions backfire won't ease consumer confidence and will definitely play havoc on the holidays. We will have no idea of when the best time to purchase that video game console would be, if we should just pay extra for permanent lights, how much inventory stores will have, if the gifts we order on Amazon will be backlogged, or what our holiday budget should be. We don't know if we will get Christmas bonuses or if our companies will have profits to share. We have no idea how bad our stock portfolios will be and how much income we will generate this year. Now, of course, we will find a way to make the best out of things. It is in our nature and part of our culture. We adapt to adversity remarkable well as a culture. However, we still hate changes to the things we enjoy the most. If Trump continues his trade war, he will most certainly finally start the war on Christmas that Republicans have been warning about.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
NYC home that famously battled back from Hurricane Sandy faces another once-in-a-lifetime disaster: ‘Really messed up'
A Staten Island home that battled back from Hurricane Sandy to 'save Christmas' — winning a visit from then-President Obama — is again partly buried in debris thanks to another once-in-a-lifetime disaster. Debra Ingenito, the 61-year-old widow who lives in the New Dorp Beach home with her two sons and several pets, said she was watching television in her living room during the early afternoon of Feb. 11 when she heard a tremendous boom. 'It really did sound like something exploded,' Ingenito told The Post. Ingenito — who had already rebuilt her family's home after Sandy — ran outside with one of her sons. The pair was shocked by the sight that greeted them. 'The house next door split in half, so half went on top of the opposite-side neighbor's car, and the other was up against our house,' she said. The crushing weight did a number on Ingenito's Topping Street home, damaging several rooms, including her kitchen on the first floor, partly wrecking her second floor, pancaking a plastic fence, cracking her chimney flue and blocking at least one exterior door. 'There's all stress cracks from the impact,' she said of her home. 'It's really messed up. … I sit here, and when the wind starts going, I hear the creaks and cracks.' It's the second time an extraordinary disaster has befallen the unfortunate Staten Islander, whose house was battered and flooded by Superstorm Sandy in November 2012. Ingenito's late husband, Joeseph, made headlines at the time for decorating a 7-foot tree outside their house for Chrismas — all that remained of the mammoth blue spruce that once towered over the family's yard before Sandy's tremendous winds tore it down. Joe decorated the tree with whatever survived the storm surge, including paper coffee cups, surgical masks, a worker's glove, safety goggles, a random hat and a Hannah Montana bag. 'I just wanted to help the neighborhood keep its spirits up,' he said. 'We're still going to have Christmas.' The couple vaulted to national fame when Obama even gifted them two ornaments for the tree after reading about their makeshift decorations. 'It's an honor, it's a once-in-a-lifetime deal,' Joseph said of the presidential attention. His wife called the ornaments 'beautiful' and said they'd be passed down through the generations. It took two years for the Ingenitos' home to be fully restored, she said. The house next door was also badly damaged during the storm, according to SILive. Workers were raising the first floor of the unoccupied next-door home when its foundation gave out and the structure tumbled onto Ingenito's and the other property, a source told the outlet. The local building department put a stop-work order on it after it fell. SILive said the contractor had been working without a permit and had violated other local rules. Building officials issued a partial vacate order for Ingenito's home, meaning she cannot use portions of it. She said she is not going anywhere. She said she is scared someone will rob her home if it's left unoccupied, and also, she has nowhere else to go anyway. Several people are helping Ingenito deal with the contractors and insurance companies — but this time, she'll go through the crucible of rebuilding without her loving husband, who died in July. Four months later, her dad passed away on her birthday, leaving her reeling even more. 'Then I had to have this happen, and I'm like, 'Really?' ' she said. 'But you know what, I just have to take it day by day,' the widow said, noting that she has no idea how much the repairs will cost or how long the rebuild will take. 'I just want the house fixed. 'But I'm a woman of faith, and I believe [my husband] was here when that house came down,' she said. 'Because it could have been a lot worse.'
