Christmas

City and World: In his first Christmas celebration as Pope, Francis called on atheists to work with believers of all religions toward “a homemade peace” that can spread across the world. He said, “Let us all unite, either with prayer or with desire, but everyone, for peace.” His recognition of non-believers is a departure from previous popes who have looked upon all non-Catholics as second-class citizens.

Christmas in Kabul: Diplomats at the American embassy in Afghanistan started their day running to the bunkers after a pair of Taliban rockets struck before dawn. No injuries were reported.

Icicles on the Tree: Hundreds of thousands of homes from Michigan to Maine might still be without power today in the aftermath of an icy winter storm. About 200,000 customers had no power in Michigan last night, about 50,000 of them in Detroit. Snow is predicted in the upper half of New York, most of Vermont and New Hampshire, and all of Maine. Temperatures are expected to be 10 to 15 degrees below average in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. 

Last Minute: The shopping rush is over, but not if you are buying healthcare that goes into effect Jan. 1. The Obama Administration granted a second 24-hour extension, until midnight tonight. The administration said two million people visited Healthcare.gov on Monday.

World: Satellite images suggest that North Korea has resumed making fuel rods at a formerly mothballed nuclear power plant. North Korea has previously used spent fuel rods to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. It’s a development that compounds the troubling internal power struggle in the upper reaches of the North Korean government.

• Mayhem continues today in South Sudan, Egypt, the Central African Republic, and Iraq. Because it’s Christmas, we’re just not going into it. Surely, there will be more tomorrow.

Mail Early: The Postal Service announced it’s raising the price of a first class stamp from 46 to 49 cents. The USPS said the increase will last only long enough to make up for the $2.8 billion in business it lost during the recession.

Space: Two US astronauts successfully replaced a refrigerator-sized cooling pump on the International Space Station. The failure of one of two pumps had led to a shutdown of portions of the station.

The Obit Page: Yusef Lateef, a Grammy-winning musician and composer who incorporated world music into traditional jazz, has died at age 94. He played, sax, flute, oboe, and bassoon. He played with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Mingus, among other jazz greats. Lateef was named William Huddleston at birth in Chattanooga, but changed his name when he became a Muslim.

NuYawk Nooz: Chiara de Blasio, the 19-year-old daughter of NY Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, announced via YouTube that she has struggled for years with drugs and depression. But the news was quickly overtaken by the revelation that Eliot Spitzer, the still-married disgraced former governor of New York, is having an affair with his former campaign aide, Lis Smith, who now works for de Blasio. New York is a small town. Spitzer and his wife Silda announced last night that their marriage is over, just like his political career. He ran for dogcatcher this fall and lost.

-Merry Christmas to all from The Rooney Report-

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