LOS ANGELES (AP) — Forget about letters to Santa. If you're one of JJ Redick's kids, you've got to work a little harder for your Christmas presents.
The Los Angeles Lakers coach and his wife, Chelsea, told sons Kai and Knox they would need to write a “persuasive essay” explaining why they should receive their biggest gift wish.
“I thought my 9-year-old really knocked it out of the park,” Redick said before the Lakers hosted the Houston Rockets on Christmas night. “A couple of his friends have one of those Meta VR headsets so he wanted one of those.”
The youngster received the headset that offers high definition virtual reality gaming and entertainment.
Knox, who's 11, received an Apple watch.
“We realize we got to start keeping tabs on him,” Redick said. “Obviously, he doesn’t have a cell phone, but has a cell number now, which is a big step for him. Thought it was the coolest thing. We went on our walk this morning with the dog and he was calling all his friends.”
The device also allows tracking and Redick added, “Location services are on.”
The Redicks lost their home in the deadly Pacific Palisades wildfire last January. The boys, who are basketball fanatics, were gifted signed, game-worn jerseys from Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul soon after to replace part of their extensive memorabilia collection that was destroyed.
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Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick looks on during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday night that he’d launched a “powerful and deadly" U.S. strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country's government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” the president posted on his social media site.
His post did not include information about how the strike was carried out, nor what effects it had. But the U.S. Africa Command posted on X that it had “conducted a strike at the request of Nigerian authorities in Soboto State killing multiple ISIS terrorists.”
“Lethal strikes against ISIS demonstrate the strength of our military and our commitment to eliminating terrorist threats against Americans at home and abroad,” its post said.
The Defense Department did not immediately answer requests for comment.
In response to Trump's previous criticisms, Nigeria's government says that people of many faiths, not just Christians, have suffered attacks at the hands of extremists groups.
Still, last month, Trump said he’d ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria following the claims of Christian persecution. The State Department has also announced it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in mass killings and violence against Christians in the West African country.
And the U.S. recently designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Trump wrote in his Christmas night post.
He said that U.S. defense officials had “executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing" and added that “our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.”
Nigeria’s population of 220 million is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.
But attacks in Nigeria often have varying motives. There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.
The U.S. security footprint has diminished in Africa, where military partnerships have either been scaled down or canceled. U.S. forces likely would have to be drawn from other parts of the world for any military intervention in Nigeria.
Trump has nonetheless kept up the pressure as Nigeria faced a series of attacks on schools and churches in violence that experts and residents say targets both Christians and Muslims.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted Thursday night on X: “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.”
Hegseth said that U.S. military forces are “always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas” and added, “More to come…Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation” before signing off, “Merry Christmas!”
President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
