How many Santa figurines fill the home of a Maryland woman known as “Christmas Carol”?

“I always believe in honesty. Gazillion and one,” she said.

Santa figurine collector Carol Trawick’s Bethesda home is crowded with Santas from every era, from around the world. She gave News4 a look and explained why her collection brings her joy year-round.

“To me, Santa is an American icon. He belongs to all of us and reminds us that in our hearts, we want to be giving people. We want to be nurturing people. And that’s his gift,” she said.

Christmas Carol began collecting in college, when her mother gave her her first Santa figurine.

“All collectors, no matter what they collect and cherish, it’s a passion, and it just grows, and it never stops, and you share that energy of that passion,” she said.

So, which Santa is her favorite?

“The one I’m holding,” she replied.

Does she have enough Santas?

“I have to stop, but I still find things that I can’t resist,” she said.

What’s Christmas Carol’s advice?

“We all need to preserve that child within us. We’ve got serious stuff going on. We’ve got serious problems that we have to overcome. But the magnificence is that we are strengthened by letting that joy of the child in us,” she said.

“Squeeze the joy out of every moment,” she added. “And if Santa helps you smile, so be it.”

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump take calls from kids about Santa.

The Maryland Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 25, 2025, results for each game:

Federal agents shot into a van during an immigration operation in Maryland on Christmas Eve in an incident that left two men hospitalized, federal authorities said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers approached a van in a quiet neighborhood in Glen Burnie, south of Baltimore, on Wednesday morning and instructed the driver to turn off the engine, according to Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. The department described the driver, who is from Portugal, and his passenger, who is from El Salvador, as being in the U.S. illegally; the driver had overstayed a visa that expired in 2009, the department said.

According to McLaughlin, the driver refused to turn off the engine and “drove his van directly at ICE officers,” hitting ICE vehicles as he tried to flee. McLaughlin said the agents fired their service weapons at the driver in self-defense.

The driver of the van was shot and crashed between two buildings, McLaughlin said. The passenger suffered whiplash in the crash. Both men were taken to a local hospital, where they are in stable condition, McLaughlin said. She said the ICE agents were “not severely injured.”

McLaughlin said the incident is under investigation.

The incident comes after months of tension between federal agents, local authorities and community members as the Trump administration ramps up its immigration enforcement operations. In September, a man opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, killing two detainees and injuring another in what officials described as an anti-ICE attack. In October, federal officers in Los Angeles shot an immigrant and a U.S. marshal during what DHS said was a “traffic enforcement stop.” Last month, two National Guard members who were deployed to Washington, D.C., as part of what the Trump administration described as a crime crackdown were shot in a “targeted” attack, officials said; one was killed and the other hospitalized in critical condition.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department will investigate Wednesday’s shooting, while the FBI will investigate the alleged attempt to harm ICE officers, said Justin Mulcahy, an Anne Arundel County Police Department spokesman.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in a post on X that he was aware of the “ICE-involved shooting” in Glen Burnie.

“As information surrounding the incident continues to emerge, we will remain in touch with local officials and are standing by to provide support for the community,” Moore said.

Allison Pickard, a council member in Anne Arundel County, called for authorities to release more information.

“Our community deserves answers — and a clear, accountable process for investigation and disclosing the findings as well as an assurance that tactics will focus more on deescalation,” she said in a statement.

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman criticized the Trump administration’s immigration operations in a statement to WTTG.

“We have federal law enforcement operating in our jurisdictions without the traditional notification of local police and often without identification,” Pittman said. “It is a recipe for violence, and that is what we experienced in our county today.”