A government shutdown will begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday unless a funding bill is passed by the end of today. An NBC News investigation helps families learn what happened to their loved ones. And it’s a new dawn for the “laughingstock of the NFL.”
Here’s what to know today.
Congress scrambles to avert shutdown after Trump and Musk inject chaos into funding fight
Congress has until midnight to pass a spending bill and avoid a shutdown ahead of the holidays. Whether it will happen is up in the air.
The House rejected a bill yesterday in a 174-235 vote, well below the two-thirds majority needed, sending lawmakers back into negotiations.
Yesterday’s 116-page bill was hastily created after President-elect Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk threw an unexpected wrench into negotiations with their vocal disapproval of a 1,500-page bipartisan bill released earlier this week. The newer bill, which Trump and Musk supported, would have funded the government through March 14 and extended the country’s debt limit through to Jan. 30, 2027 (Trump has actually called for abolishing the debt ceiling entirely. It would be the “smartest thing it [Congress] could do,” he said in a phone interview with NBC News). The bill also included millions of dollars in disaster relief and an extension of the farm bill but lacked provisions from the previous bill, like cost-of-living increases for lawmakers.
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Asked by reporters last night whether a new funding bill would be released today, House Speaker Mike Johnson said “we’ll see.” Meanwhile, House Democrats plan to meet this morning, according to an invitation obtained by NBC News.
If an agreement goes through the House, the Senate will still need to pass it and send it to President Joe Biden’s desk before the shutdown deadline.
Regardless, this week’s negotiations over the budget deal have solidified new political truths. With Biden staying completely silent on the negotiations, he has allowed Trump to position himself as a second president. Johnson’s status as speaker is contingent upon keeping Trump happy. And Musk’s role as the nascent Trump administration’s muscle and money is now no longer just hypothetical.
Read the full story here, and follow our live blog for the latest updates.
More government shutdown coverage
Trump rethinks firing Joint Chiefs chairman, sources say
A meeting between President-elect Trump and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., may have delayed Trump’s plans to fire Brown, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation. The pair had a one-on-one conversation during the Army-Navy football game last weekend, where Brown congratulated Trump on his victory and made it clear he was ready to work with the president.
For months, Trump and his associates have vowed to immediately fire U.S. military leaders whom they deem too focused on diversity initiatives, often referring to Brown specifically. However, several Republican lawmakers and retired generals have been urging Trump not to fire Brown over concerns it could be destabilizing and send the wrong message to members of the military, especially as Trump’s defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, is fighting to be confirmed. After their talk, the two sources said, Trump is “changing his tone” on Brown.
How an NBC News investigation helped families find answers
Some knew their loved ones had died, but not what had been done with their body. Others spent years searching, only to discover that their relatives had spent their final hours alone, with no family called to their side. Nearly all said they would have honored the dead with funerals, if only they had known.
Instead, these mothers, fathers, sons and daughters were outraged to learn that their relatives’ bodies had been given to the University of North Texas Health Science Center to be studied and dissected, NBC News found in a yearlong investigation. Nearly a dozen of these families received the grim and grisly truth not from a medical examiner, hospital or police officer — but from NBC News and Noticias Telemundo, including six who found their relatives’ names on a list published by the news outlets in October.
Among the dead was Denzil “Dale” Leggett, who had a warm demeanor and dry sense of humor but was also extremely private and avoided most social gatherings, his family said. Leggett’s family wasn’t contacted when he died in May 2023, and his younger brother was stunned when he spotted his sibling’s name on the list on NBCNews.com.
One reason Dale was so private: He had a deep mistrust of the government and the health care industry.
Read All About It
- Luigi Mangione, the suspect indicted in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, was flown to New York and hit with new federal charges.
- Senior U.S. officials arrived in Damascus for the first diplomatic mission to the Syrian capital since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
- After Oklahoma carried out the nation’s final execution of the year, advocates against the death penalty are watching to see if President Joe Biden commutes the sentences of dozens of other death row inmates before leaving office.
- Discount furniture and home décor retailer Big Lots will initiate going-out-of-business sales at its remaining locations after a deal to find a purchaser fell through.
- A major report released this week further muddied an answer to the question: Is drinking in moderation healthy or dangerous?
Staff Pick: The NFL’s ‘laughingstock’ has suddenly started winning
If you’re a younger fan of Washington’s NFL franchise, chances are you haven’t had a fun experience. Since 1999, when former owner Dan Snyder took over, the team has had more name changes (three) than playoff wins (two). There have been 27 different starting quarterbacks and 10 head coaches. But in 2023, the team’s fortunes started to shift, with a new ownership group, general manager, coach and signal-caller. The Commanders are 9-5 this season — their best start since 1992 — and destined for a postseason berth. Fans, like actor Jeffrey Wright, are finally reaping the rewards. The Golden Globe winner called Jayden Daniels’ Hail Mary touchdown earlier this season “a stamp on the beginning of a new era.” — Greg Rosenstein, sports editor
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Sure, Costco is great for stocking up on household essentials and pantry staples, but the retailer also has a trove of name-brand products sold at competitive prices. Here’s what to shop across categories like tech, kitchen and beauty and wellness.
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