According to a recent CDC report, life expectancy in the U.S. increased to 78.4 years in 2023, marking the highest level since the start of the Covid pandemic. 


Dec. 19, 2024, 6:06 PM GMT+6

By Elizabeth Robinson and Nick Duffy

With less than two days left before a potential government shutdown, Donald Trump has voiced strong opposition to a bipartisan funding bill. Meanwhile, U.S. life expectancy has risen to its highest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new study suggests the moon is millions of years older than previously thought.

Here’s what to know today.

Trump Opposes Funding Bill as Shutdown Deadline Looms As the deadline for a government shutdown approaches, the fate of a bipartisan funding bill is uncertain after President-elect Donald Trump criticized the legislation yesterday, urging Congress to explore alternative solutions. A shutdown will occur at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday unless Congress takes action. Currently, no backup plan is in place.

“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH,” Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance said in a joint statement. “If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It’s Schumer and Biden who are delaying aid to our farmers and disaster relief.”

Trump also demanded the bill include a debt ceiling increase, a provision neither party had been considering, emphasizing that he wanted this decision to occur during President Biden’s tenure.

Trump followed up with a warning to Republicans who might support the bill. "Any Republican who would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump’s and Vance’s opposition came shortly after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, heads of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, also criticized the bill. Musk posted multiple tweets calling the bill “criminal,” shared memes, and spread misinformation, including an unfounded claim that a proposed congressional pay raise would be 40%. In reality, the maximum increase for the following year is set at 3.8%.

The proposed continuing resolution, which would keep the government funded until March 14, includes disaster relief for hurricane-affected communities and economic assistance for farmers, among other measures.

More Politics News

  • Lawyers and pro-democracy groups are building a nationwide network to protect people who could face retribution once Trump takes office, according to sources involved in the effort.
  • ICE is grappling with a $230 million budget shortfall, which could hinder Trump’s plans for mass deportations.
  • Robert F. Kennedy’s confirmation as secretary of health and human services faces challenges due to his long history of anti-vaccine rhetoric.
  • The Senate passed an $895 million defense spending package, including a ban on coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender military children. The package is now heading to President Biden’s desk.

Gisèle Pelicot’s Ex-Husband and 46 Men Found Guilty of Rape In a landmark trial that has shaken France, Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband and 46 other men were convicted of rape and sexual assault in connection with a decade-long abuse case. Dominique Pelicot, 72, pled guilty to drugging his ex-wife and orchestrating her rape by dozens of men while she was unconscious. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The other men received sentences ranging from three to eight years.

The case, which has outraged France, is seen by some as a second wave of the #MeToo movement in the country, as the legal and social climate around gender violence continues to shift.

After Woman’s Death, Medical School Harvested Her Body Parts Aurimar Iturriago Villegas, who left Venezuela to escape poverty, was killed in a road rage incident near Dallas in 2022. Without her family's knowledge, authorities donated her body to a local medical school, where officials dissected it for research purposes, assigning dollar values to parts of her body.

Her mother, Arelis Coromoto Villegas, only learned of her daughter’s body being used for research two years after the incident, following an investigation into the U.S. body parts industry. The revelation has sparked outrage, with her mother expressing heartbreak over the loss of her daughter being turned into a commodity.

Putin Vows to Ask Assad About Missing Journalist In response to a question from NBC News’ Keir Simmons, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to ask Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad about the missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice. Tice, who vanished in Syria 12 years ago, has been a point of concern for U.S. officials. Putin’s promise came during his annual end-of-year press conference.

U.S. Life Expectancy Rises to Highest Level Since COVID The CDC reports that U.S. life expectancy reached 78.4 years in 2023, the highest level since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This marks a significant improvement from 2022, when life expectancy stood at 77.5 years. The decrease in COVID-related deaths contributed to this positive change, although experts caution that the pandemic’s long-term impact remains uncertain. The leading causes of death in the U.S. in 2023 were heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, stroke, and chronic respiratory diseases.

Read More

  • The two victims of Monday’s shooting at Madison, Wisconsin’s Abundant Life Christian School have been identified as 42-year-old teacher Erin M. West and 14-year-old student Rubi P. Vergara.
  • A Louisiana resident has been hospitalized with bird flu, marking the nation’s first severe human infection of the year.
  • A mother of twins was deported after missing an immigration hearing due to recovering from an emergency C-section.
  • The invasive “murder hornets” have been eradicated from the U.S., five years after they were first identified in Washington state.
  • The College Football Playoffs have returned with a new 12-team bracket, and here are the top games to watch this week.

Staff Pick: The Moon’s True Age A recent study suggests the moon may be over 100 million years older than previously believed. Researchers found that a dramatic “re-melting” event early in the moon’s history could have obscured its true age. The updated estimate suggests the moon is 4.51 billion years old, rather than the earlier estimate of 4.35 billion years. This new understanding of the moon’s formation sheds light on the early days of the solar system.

NBC Select: Online Shopping Made Simple As nails grow brittle with age, several products can help keep them strong. Discover the best nail treatments and learn about the 18 best solutions for dark under-eye circles, recommended by dermatologists.

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