Christmas Day: Pope Francis said during a service last night that Christmas has been “taken hostage” by materialism, and that the season needs more humility.

Francis said we live in a time “when the lights of commerce cast the light of God into the shadows, when we are concerned for gifts, but cold toward those who are marginalized”.

Well, maybe, but it can’t be all that bad. The stores are closed today and Chinese restaurants are open. Hatchimals are under the tree. Donald Trump and family are at his Mar a Lago resort for Christmas, and the Obamas are in Hawaii. The NORAD Santa tracker says Santa successfully delivered 7,281,439,471 gifts.

Heavy snowfall and strong winds continue to bring a Christmas blizzard to the Northern Plains. Freezing rain and ice might cause power outages in the Upper Midwest. There might even thunderstorms over portions of the Central Plains.

In Transition: Sorry, we just couldn’t go a day without mentioning him. Donald Trump announced that he is shutting down his charitable foundation to avoid conflicts of interest while he’s president. “The Foundation has done enormous good works over the years in contributing millions of dollars to countless worthy groups, including supporting veterans, law enforcement officers and children,” Trump said in a superlative-loaded statement.

But the foundation has been the subject of inquiries about how it has collected and disbursed money, including using foundation money to settle lawsuits against Trump’s profit-making businesses. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says he will continue to investigate the foundation on suspicion of “self-dealing,” using foundation money to benefit Trump himself.

The Foundation paid $30,000 for two large portraits of Trump, one of which was hung up in the sports bar at a Trump-owned resort.

World: All 92 people on board were killed when a Russian military aircraft carrying a famous military choir crashed into the Black Sea. On board were 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, the Russian military choir. They were flying from Sochi to Syria to entertain Russian troops, but the plane disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off.

Ouch: The Oakland Raiders and the Tennessee Titans both lost their starting quarterbacks to broken legs yesterday. Derek Carr of Oakland and Tennessee’s Marcus Mariota each broke their right leg when they were sacked.

End Zone: The good news for the Cleveland Browns is that they are on the way to winning the number one draft pick next year. And the way they win it is by not winning. The Browns won their first game of the season yesterday, 20-17 over San Diego. They are 1-14 for the year, going up against the 9-5 Pittsburgh Steelers on New Year’s Day.

Merry Christmas to All: We wish the news was cheerier today. But remember, Buddy the Elf says, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing loud for all to hear.”

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