It appears legislators won't reach a deal before the end of the year as they head into their holiday recess.

Washington

Congress appears poised to adjourn for the holidays without reaching an agreement on extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which are due to expire at the end of the year. Efforts in both the Senate and House to pass extension measures have failed to gain sufficient bipartisan support, with competing proposals from Democrats and Republicans stalling progress.

The House Republican plan, which does not include an extension of the expiring tax credits, may pass without Democratic votes but faces uncertainty even within the party. As Congress prepares to recess, it is increasingly unlikely that a solution will be reached before the end of the year, leaving the issue unresolved and likely to become a topic in the 2026 midterm elections.

Congress may not reach a healthcare deal before end of year

With the year winding down it looks like lawmakers will leave for the holidays without a solution for millions of Americans facing steep health care costs in 2026. Obamacare tax credits are set to expire on January 21st but Congress is set to go on its recess at the end of this week. Scripps News congressional correspondent Nathaniel Reed is live joining us from Capitol Hill with hopefully a little bit of an indication on where things are going and if there's any hope for health care action before the end of the year. Nate? Well Stephanie, very little hope for any health care action before the end of the year and that's because of a number of reasons. For one, the Senate voted last week on these Affordable Care Act tax extensions. That was a bill championed by Democrats. Largely it was Democrats who supported that with the exception of four Republicans who crossed party lines but to be clear that was nowhere near enough support to cause that bill to pass. That would have extended these Affordable Care Act tax credits which expired at the end of this year for another three years. Basically clean extension, very few other policy riders in there as well. Republicans had put forward their own proposal to try and give Americans health savings accounts. Americans who go through the Affordable Care Act health savings accounts that they can then use some money from. House Republicans now going at it on their own with an entirely different plan from the one that the Republican plan the Senate voted on. It's called the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act. What's notable about this plan, Stephanie, is not just what it would contain, it's rather what it doesn't contain. There's no extension of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits which expire at the end of this year. It mandates increased pharmacy benefit manager transparency. That's something that Republicans and Democrats have been looking to accomplish. This plan, also notably, unlike the Senate Republican plan, does not expand health savings accounts though it does boost some employer health care plans and cost sharing plans. So again, doesn't do a whole ton, but this is an attempt by Republicans to show that they're trying to address the issue of affordable health care, bringing down that cost to the American people. But in terms of whether this bill stands a chance at passing when it comes up for a vote later this week, there's a chance that it does. And look, Republicans don't need any Democratic support to get this bill across the finish line. The reality is there's a lot of questions about whether all Republicans will be willing to back that new House Republican plan. And furthermore, if there'll be any attempts, at least on the floor of the House, to try and force a vote on some of those Affordable Care Act tax subsidies, an extension of those, at this point, it seems unlikely that common ground is going to be reached in just this week that Congress has left. They're going home for the holidays this Friday. It seems extremely unlikely, Stephanie, that they'll be able to reach some sort of bipartisan conclusion to this saga of trying to extend these Affordable Care Act tax credits. This is the reason the government shut down for the longest shutdown in American history earlier this year. We're now ending the year with no end in sight or no extension in sight, excuse me, to those Affordable Care Act tax credits. It seems like with every passing day, Stephanie, increasingly this is just going to be an issue for the 2026 midterm elections. Yeah, you and I both know, Nate, that, you know, when lawmakers are motivated, they can move at lightning speed in the House and the Senate, but they've got to have that bipartisan agreement, and that just is not there on the issue of health care. Scripps News Congressional Correspondent Nathaniel Reed, live for us on Capitol Hill. Thank you very much. Thanks, Steph.

Police say the alleged gunmen who opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach had traveled to Mindanao in the Philippines last month, as investigators probe ties to extremist networks.

Bondi Beach

Islamic State link eyed after Bondi Beach gunmen's Philippine visit

Donald Trump has launched a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of altering his words in a documentary about the Capitol riot.

Trump sues BBC for $10 billion over edited Capitol riot speech

Zelenskyy hails progress with the US during Berlin talks about security guarantees. Europeans vow to protect Ukraine, including via military means, against Russia in the future. But disagreements over territories remain.

Berlin

EU vows to assist Ukraine against future Russia attack at Berlin talks

Australia's prime minister said a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach appears to have been motivated by ISIS ideology. Meanwhile, mourners flocked to the site to lay flowers and grieve for the people killed, including a 10-year-old child.

Council of the City of Sydney

Bondi Beach shooting motivated by ISIS ideology: Australian PM

Four people have been arrested in California - charged with plotting a series of bombing attacks on multiple targets on New Year's Eve.

California

FBI arrests four over alleged New Year’s Eve bomb plot in California

Police in Rhode Island are searching for a new person of interest following Saturday’s deadly shooting at Brown University. Investigators say the case remains active as authorities work to determine a motive.

Providence

New person of interest sought in Brown University shooting

The son of filmmaker Rob Reiner was arrested on homicide charges after the director of beloved movies like "When Harry Met Sally ..." and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home, a police official said on Monday.

Los Angeles

Rob Reiner's son arrested after director and wife found dead

A jury found Brian Walshe guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Ana on New Year's Day in 2023 in their Massachusetts home. Legal analyst Jennifer Roman joins with more details.

Boston

Brian Walshe found guilty of first-degree murder in wife's death

Hong Kong's High Court on Monday (December 15) found pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong court finds Jimmy Lai guilty in landmark security trial

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. negotiators are meeting in Berlin. As the U.S. grows increasingly pressed to end the four-year war, the peace negotiations continue, with territorial concessions to Russia remaining the "sticking point" for Ukraine.

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy offers to drop NATO bid for security guarantees

Police have released a person of interest who was detained in a shooting at Brown University. Two students were killed and at least nine others were injured in the Saturday attack. Tom Hanson spoke with students about the shooting.

Police release person of interest in shooting at Brown University

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed abandoning NATO ambitions in exchange for Western security guarantees during peace talks in Berlin. The move marks a major shift as Kyiv seeks to end the war with Russia without ceding territory.

Ukraine offers to drop NATO bid at Berlin peace talks

Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead Sunday in their Los Angeles home, sources told CBS News, in what police called an apparent homicide. Rob Reiner was 78 and Michele Reiner was 68.

Brentwood

Director Rob Reiner and his wife found dead in their L.A. home

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile's presidential run-off, after defeating his leftist opponent.

Santiago

Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast wins Chile’s presidential election

The person of interest authorities took into custody in connection with the shooting at Brown University has been identified as Benjamin Erickson. He's a 24 year old, originally from Wisconsin.

Person of interest identified in Brown University shooting

Two alleged gunmen who killed 15 people at a Jewish celebration in Sydney's Bondi Beach were a father and son, police said on Monday, as Australia mourned victims of its worst gun violence in almost 30 years. This video contains graphic images.

Father and son behind Bondi mass shooting, Australian police say

Israel has described a deadly mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach as an attack on Jews, after gunmen opened fire during a Jewish holiday event, killing at least 11 people.

Israel calls Bondi shooting attack on Jews, urges action on antisemitism

Two gunmen attacked a Hannukah celebration on a Sydney beach Sunday, killing at least 11 people in what Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitism and terrorism.

Gunmen kill several at Jewish gathering in Sydney's Bondi Beach

Providence police have detained a "person of interest" in connection with the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and another nine people wounded, as the Ivy League school said it had lifted a shelter-in-place order for its campus in Rhode Island.

Police hold person of interest after Brown University shooting

Belarus has freed more than 120 political prisoners in a major thaw in relations with the United States. The releases came in return for Washington lifting sanctions on potash, a key source of revenue for Belarus.

Minsk

Belarus releases 123 prisoners as U.S. lifts sanctions

Washington was still under a state of emergency on Saturday after torrential rains swamped communities. Plus, snow and dangerous cold are falling on some in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Nicole Valdes has more from Washington state.

Deming

Washington under state emergency as rains ease

China's plans for a massive new embassy in the British capital were delayed until January. Construction plans have proven controversial, with some raising espionage concerns. Ramy Inocencio has more from London.

London

Controversial Chinese embassy construction in London delayed

A United Airlines jetliner lost one of its engines during liftoff from Washington's Dulles Airport bound for Tokyo.

Tokyo

United Airlines flight loses engine during liftoff, sparks brush fire

Thailand says there is no ceasefire with Cambodia, and its military will continue fighting until it faces no further threat. That's despite the US president's earlier announcement that both sides had agreed to stop their attacks. Villages along the border are largely empty, except for a handful of volunteer security guards.

Phnom Penh

Fighting continues along Thai-Cambodia border

U.S President Donald Trump has threatened potential land strikes on Venezuela to target an illegal narcotics trade. Trump says the drugs are arriving on U.S shores and that President Nicolas Maduro is behind it. Maduro has denied the claim.

Caracas

Washington considers Venezuela land assault

King Charles III, who shared his cancer diagnosis with the world in February 2024, announced Friday that he would be scaling back his treatment after his doctors have seen success. The monarch also pushed for people to get early screenings, saying, "Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives."

King Charles to reduce cancer treatments

Belarus has freed more than 100 political prisoners, including a Nobel Peace Prize winner, in exchange for sanction relief on Belarusian potash, a U.S. statement said on Saturday.

Belarus releases political prisoners as U.S. lifts some sanctions

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited troops fending off Russian advances near the embattled city of Kupiansk that Moscow claimed to have captured last month, which Kyiv denies.

Kup'yans'k

Zelenskyy visits troops as Ukraine claims gained ground near key city

In an audacious move, the EU has decided to indefinitely immobilize the Russian sovereign assets, pushing back against external pressure to release the funds before Moscow agrees to pay war reparations to Ukraine.

Brussels

EU locking in Russian assets for good

U.S. House Democrats released new images from the estate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that feature U.S. President Donald Trump and other high-profile people previously linked to Epstein.

Breakdown