7. Republican New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the city on Jan. 1, daring Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to fulfill his campaign pledge to arrest him under an ICC warrant for alleged Gaza war crimes.

6. U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) co-sponsored a House resolution introduced by Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) condemning the targeted killing of 50,000-100,000 Christians in Nigeria since 2009 and at least 7,000 this year alone as a human rights violation and genocide; they are urging lawmakers to confront the issue amid UN inaction.

5. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) fired back at Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom and fellow Democrats for criticizing his vote to end the government shutdown and his bipartisan streak, insisting he won’t “play chicken” with Americans’ lives, especially SNAP-dependent Pennsylvanians.

4. Governor-elect National Championship-winning Coach U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) predicted Democrats will abolish the filibuster upon retaking the Senate and he stressed the urgency of voter ID and mail-in ballot restriction for election integrity. He also suggested that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) political future is dependent on the whims of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and not Schumer.

3. The spending bill ending the government shutdown includes a provision allowing seven Republican U.S. senators, including Governor-elect National Championship-winning Coach U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), to sue the federal government for up to $500,000 each over unauthorized access to their phone records during former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation.

2. The Supreme Court extended a stay on a lower court’s mandate allowing the Trump administration to pause the issuing of SNAP benefits for November during the shutdown. Politicians claimed this is causing irreparable harm to low-income families, as if welfare programs are the most important thing the government does, while Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued against judicial overreach.

1. President Donald Trump praised the “very good” bipartisan deal brokered by U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) to end the government shutdown, making it clear that he will sign the bill and reopen the government when the House votes on the measure today.

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Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.