7 Things: Shutdown drags on, another illegal immigrant minor has died crossing the border, protest leader banned from Hoover mall and more …

7. President Donald Trump caused some controversy when he discussed Santa with a seven-year-old girl

— The resident and his wife were fielding calls from kids for the NORAD Santa Tracker when Trump asked Collman Llyod, “Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at seven, it’s marginal, right?”

The child said she still believes in Santa and she didn’t understand what the president was saying.

6. Former Birmingham mayor Larry Langford is near death in a federal prison

— Langford, 72, is in critical condition and is said to be near death. His attorney stated, “We were told he may not last through the end of the week.” The former mayor was denied a compassionate release in November.

— Several family members of Langford’s family, including his wife, have gone to the federal prison in Kentucky to be near his side as he is serving 15 years on bribery charges.

5. Democrats across America continue their historically ignorant Christmas tradition of attempting to brand Mary and Joseph as refugees

— Liberal Democrat darling U.S. Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to declare the birth of Jesus was about refugees, tweeting, “Joy to the World! Merry Christmas everyone – here’s to a holiday filled with happiness, family, and love for all people. (Including refugee babies in mangers + their parents.)”

— This interpretation appears every year at Christmas and is based on nothing. Mary and Joseph were participating in the Roman census. You could claim they fled King Herod later, but they still remained in the Roman empire and did not traverse international borders.

4. Trump leads Beto, ties Sanders and trails Biden in a 2020 poll that is out before we even get to 2019

— Not many are surprised that Biden polls well against Trump. He is considered a relatively likable blue-collar guy. Also, being Obama’s vice president while he enjoys good numbers post-presidency doesn’t hurt.

— In all three matchups, Trump sits in the 36 or 37 percent, which does not bode well for an incumbent with 100 percent name recognition. But, the Trump attacks will definitely knock the luster off his opponents in a one-on-one race.

3. Riverchase Galleria protest “leader” banned from the mall for a year

— Carlos Chaverst, Jr. cannot go back to the Galleria until December 15, 2019. If he shows up at the mall he will be subject to arrest.

— Under a fake Facebook account using the name “Montez Chaverst,” he wrote, “These type of actions aren’t constitutional and we will vigorously fight the unfair discriminatory practices by both the Galleria and Hoover Police.”

2. An 8-year-old who crossed the border illegally has died — the second child this month

— The Guatemalan child was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, taken to the hospital and thought to have a cold. He had a fever. The boy was released and then returned later after vomiting, and died.

— There is no indication that the border patrol or any United States authority did anything wrong, but this has not stopped the media and Democrats from implying or outright stating the deaths are the fault of the president’s immigration policy.

1. President Trump show no signs of budging on border demands; White House signals there could be a deal, but Democrats disagree

— In a Christmas morning availability in the Oval Office, the president told the press, “I can’t tell you when the government is going to be open, I can tell you it’s not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they want to call it.”

— The White House said there may be room for negotiation. Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said, “We moved off of the five and we hope they move up from their 1.3 [billion],” but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office says the two sides are “very far apart.”