• President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are spending Christmas at their Mar-a-Lago estate.
• The couple participated in Christmas Eve calls with children and military service members.
• Mr. Trump extended Christmas wishes on social media, including to what he termed the “Radical Left Scum.”
• The Trumps also attended a Christmas Eve dinner in a ballroom at the Florida resort.

President Donald Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania, are spending Christmas at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Trumps spent Christmas Eve on calls with children and military service members.

According to a social media post, Trump and the first lady attended a Christmas Eve dinner in one of Mar-a-Lago’s luxurious ballrooms.

Trump also extended Christmas wishes in a post on TruthSocial, including to what he called the “Radical Left Scum.”

“Merry Christmas to all, including the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our Country, but are failing badly,” the post reads in part.

See photos: President Trump, Melania spend Christmas 2025 at Mar-a-Lago

Contributing: Antonio Fins, The Palm Beach Post

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A wanted Central Florida man was caught after deputies noticed that his car had a wrong tag, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

In a release on Wednesday, deputies said they initially spotted a car with a tag that didn’t belong on it.

“A little research showed (the driver) had an open warrant for occupied burglary,” the release reads. “He tried to accelerate and ram his way out of trouble, but that only led to more charges.”

Body-camera footage shows deputies confront and ultimately catch the driver, identified as 33-year-old Dillon Cottrell.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies also recovered a trafficking amount of fentanyl and other drugs.

Now, Cottrell faces charges of burglary, criminal mischief, fleeing law enforcement, trafficking in fentanyl, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, and obstructing law enforcement.

He is held without bond. His passenger, Kelli Jo Hands, was also arrested, deputies added.

“Both are still in jail and most likely spending Christmas there,” the release concludes.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Just weeks into his new job, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom – sharing a small apartment with his wife and two children – was told that an officer was just involved in a shooting.

A former commander for Chicago Police Department, Winstrom had dealt with many shootings involving police.

Officer Christopher Schurr shot and killed Black motorist Patrick Lyoya after a Feb. 4, 2022, traffic stop. Schurr, a white officer, shot Lyoya in the back of the head.

Winstrom, who was named this week one of three finalists for police chief in Pensacola, Florida, recalled the tragedy in Grand Rapids in an MLive video 13 months after the killing.

He became chief in Grand Rapids on March 7, 2022.

He described the shooting as “just like a slap across the face and a wake-up call because I had been involved in so many of these difficult situations in Chicago. So I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I guess we’re doing this here so quick’ and it was I would say a progression of sadness.”

He met with Lyoya’s family in his office, “crying literally with them.” He knew that Schurr, who was ultimately acquitted by a Kent County jury of second-degree murder, and his family were devastated, too.

Winstrom fired Schurr after charges were filed.

He knew that his officers had strong feelings, with many supporting Schurr, who said he acted in self-defense when Lyoya gained control of his Taser.

Winstrom, who often responds to serious crime scenes, said: “I’ll say that this department – I’m sure everybody’s got their opinions – but from what I’ve seen they’ve handled it professionally … have not let it impact job performance at all which was something that I was really afraid of.”

That has happened in other U.S. cities after controversial police shootings. Lyoya’s supporters held many protests, particularly when the officer was on trial.

Windstrom said that calls to defund police can lead to a ‘mass exodus’ of officers, which data shows results in increasing violence in minority neighborhoods.

He said that “officers in Grand Rapids, whether they agree with my decision to fire Christopher or not, come to work every day. They just do a phenomenal, professional job. I’m really proud of them.”

Winstrom is a finalist for the Pensacola job with Brian Dugan, a former Tampa police chief, and Erik Goss, the acting deputy chief in Pensacola, the Pensacola News Journal reported.

The selection process will occur Jan. 12 to 14.

Winstrom declined an MLive request for comment on Wednesday, Dec. 24, but issued a statement the previous day.

He asked for patience while he considered what is best for him and his family. He said he will be “engaged here as ever” during the process and “I remain fully committed to ensuring the City of Grand Rapids is a community where people feel safe and are safe at all times.“

City Manager Mark Washington appointed Winstrom nearly four years ago knowing “that he was a highly qualified, top-tier professional in the field of public safety. While he hadn’t served as a Chief of Police, his potential was evident.”

Washington added: “Given the significant progress he has led within the Grand Rapids Police Department – specifically in advancing constitutional policing, enhancing transparency, and centering the department’s commitment to serve all residents – it is certainly not surprising that other communities would seek out his leadership and expertise.”