The Evening: House passes bill to avert shutdown

Also, the 2024 faces quiz.

View in browser|nytimes.com December 20, 2024 By Matthew Cullen Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Friday. A vote to avert a shutdown A German Christmas market attack Plus, the 2024 faces quiz Speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol today.  Maansi Srivastava for The New York Times The House voted to avert a government shutdown The House approved legislation tonight to avert a government shutdown roughly six hours before it was set to begin. A majority of lawmakers in both parties voted to extend funding for the federal government into mid-March and approve disaster relief for parts of the nation still reeling from storms. The bill moved to the Democrat-controlled Senate for a vote expected this evening. The outlook in the chamber was unclear, though top lawmakers predicted that senators were likely to accept what the House passed and avoid a crisis. Here's the latest. The vote in the House came after some last-minute chaos: An earlier bipartisan spending deal was abandoned after Donald Trump demanded that Congress also increase the debt limit. That led to a revolt in the House, which yesterday rejected a bill to fund the government. As the shutdown loomed, Speaker Mike Johnson agreed today to move forward with a slimmed-down deal that does not address the debt ceiling. It was the kind of maneuvering that often happens as Christmas nears, our correspondent Catie Edmondson told me. "There tends to be a little bit of holiday magic when the lawmakers desperately want to go home for the holidays," she said. In order to placate Trump, Republicans discussed raising the borrowing cap early next year as part of a broad tax cut measure. In other politics news: Elon Musk, a close adviser to Trump, endorsed Germany's far-right AfD party ahead of the country's upcoming election. Trump intends to replace at least three officials whom new presidents traditionally leave alone. Senate Democrats asked Boris Epshteyn, a top Trump lawyer, to respond to allegations that he solicited payments from potential nominees. Postmortems are bad at predictions, our chief political analyst writes. The cordoned off Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. Heiko Rebsch/DPA, via Associated Press A driver rammed a German Christmas market, killing 2 A driver plowed a vehicle into a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg in central Germany this evening, killing at least two people and injuring more than 65 others, 14 of them severely. The driver, identified as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen, was arrested, the authorities said. They said they believe it was a deliberate attack. More than 1,000 Christmas markets pop up every year in Germany, and have been targeted by terrorists before. In 2016, an extremist rammed a truck into a crowd in Berlin, killing 13. Since then, the police have secured many of the markets with temporary barriers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Cole Burston for The New York Times Canada's leader suffered another setback Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to be losing his grip on power. The head of a party who has backed Trudeau released a scathing open letter today calling the prime minister a failed leader and vowing to bring down the government. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party who wrote the letter, promised to bring a motion to defeat Trudeau's government after Parliament returns from holiday break next month. The move could force an immediate general election. For more: Here's why so many Canadians have turned on Trudeau. Trisha Bushey/Trisha Bushey, via Associated Press Despite the panic over drones, Amazon is leaning in In New Jersey, concerned residents have reported thousands of drone sightings over the past few weeks (many were just planes). Meanwhile in Phoenix, Amazon is trying to prove that little flying robots are a good way to deliver packages. Our tech columnist, Kevin Roose, recently tried Amazon's overhauled drone delivery program. He was impressed. But it was also clear to him that the anxiety in New Jersey was not to be ignored: People are still skeptical about drones. More top news Syria: Senior U.S. diplomats traveled to Damascus to meet with militias controlling the country and with civil society groups. Health: The F.D.A. approved the use of a weight loss drug to treat obstructive sleep apnea. Labor: Starbucks baristas in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle walked off the job after the workers' union failed to produce an agreement on raises. France: A court convicted eight people tied to events that led to the beheading of a teacher who showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Crime: A freshman at George Mason University in Virginia was arrested on charges of plotting an attack at the Israeli consulate general in New York. Storms: The death toll from Cyclone Chido in Mozambique has risen to 75, the government said, nearly doubling the previously reported number. Autos: Volkswagen reached an agreement with its union, ending a three-month standoff that had rattled Germany. U.S.: An judge in Indiana sentenced a man to 130 years for killing two teenage girls in 2017 in a case that became known as the Delphi Murders. TIME TO UNWIND By The New York Times Can you recognize the biggest names of 2024? A lot happened in 2024: There was the presidential election, the wars in the Middle East and the Summer Olympics in Paris. How well do you remember the year's defining personalities? Test yourself with the faces quiz. We'll show you photos of 52 people; you tell us their names. Looking for a last-minute gift? Consider a book. For those who exchange gifts for Christmas or Hanukkah, time is running short. One option is to check out my colleagues' favorite books of the year. For more, the Book Review picked the 10 best books of the year, and readers shared their recommendations. Jeenah Moon for The New York Times Your holiday traditions As the holidays approach, we asked readers about the traditions they are most looking forward to this year. Thank you to everyone who wrote in. Today, we are featuring the first reader contribution and will include more in our upcoming newsletters. As kids, my mom would hide a pickle ornament on the tree after we went to sleep on Christmas Eve to decide who would get to open the first present the next morning. Now I'm 21 and my sister is 17, and I'm still looking forward to beating her at the Pickle Hunt. — Lauren Radicchi, Pawling, N.Y. This one was particularly fun because my family also hides a pickle ornament on our Christmas tree. If you want to share your favorite tradition, tell us about it here. Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images, Harry Benson/Daily Express, via Getty Images, Todd Heisler/The New York Times Dinner table topics Artists we lost: Shelley Duvall, James Earl Jones, Paul Auster and many other greats died in 2024. Here's a tribute to them. Bloom Books: A scrappy new publisher landed 25 books on the best-seller list this year. Solstice of the soul: The Times's cosmic correspondent is retiring. Read his goodbye. Holiday spirit: One New York City bar plays Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" every 15 minutes. WHAT TO DO THIS WEEKEND David Malosh for The New York Times Cook: This cheese puff is the ultimate comfort food. Sip: 'Tis the season for ponche crème, a Trinidadian twist on eggnog. Watch: "Laid" is acerbic, raunchy and fun, our critic writes. Gaze: The Ursids, the last major meteor shower of the year, reaches its peak tomorrow night. Prepare: Weather may snarl holiday travel. See what's coming your way. Decorate: Here's how to make a Festivus pole like you're Frank Costanza. Compete: Take this week's news quiz. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here. ONE LAST THING The Griswold family house in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." Warner Bros. The Griswold house's power bill In the 1989 holiday classic, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," Clark Griswold impresses his family with a blinding display of 25,000 twinkle lights at his house. The scene has made some viewers wonder: How much power would that take? After rewatching the movie this year, we found some answers. It turns out there's no way a typical home could have powered so many lights in the 1980s. And even if the Griswolds found a way, it would have cost about $287 a day or $8,885 per month. If they used modern LEDs, it would still cost the family about $34 a day or $1,054 a month. Have a dazzling weekend. Thanks for reading. I'll be back on Monday. — Matthew Anna Ruch was our photo editor today. We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com. Writer: Matthew Cullen Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The Evening from The New York Times. To stop receiving The Evening, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018