Congress avoids a government shutdown; the military vaccine mandate gets dropped as defense bill passes; a massive winter storm surges on; and nearly half of young adults are living with their parents. These stories and more highlight the morning rundown for Thursday, Dec. 16, 2022. 

Congress averts government shutdown

The Senate and the House have both voted to keep the government open long enough to try and come to a compromise on a long-term spending bill. The two chambers will now debate how to divvy up funds to federal agencies that would last through September of 2023.

“I’m optimistic that we will enact a strong omnibus next week. On Tuesday, as you know, a bicameral, bipartisan framework was announced. This crucial step puts us on a path to a yearlong government spending bill,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. 

It’s projected to be a massive package at around $1.7 trillion, if the politicians can agree on how to spend it and pass it by next Friday.

Defense bill passes

It was a busy night in the Senate Thursday as lawmakers also passed the Defense Authorization bill. It now goes to President Joe Biden for signature. The $858 billion defense bill had bipartisan support.

It drops the U.S. military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, includes a 4.6% pay-raise to service members, and bolsters support for Ukraine and Taiwan.

DHS plan once Title 42 ends

The Biden administration has unveiled its plan on how to handle an expected immigration surge once Title 42 is lifted next week. The Department of Homeland Security will add more personnel at the U.S.-Mexico border, including processing coordinators. They will add more holding facilities and add hundreds of flights and bus routes to take migrants to other less crowded facilities.

While Title 42 is set to end Wednesday, a judge ruled Thursday the Trump-era remain-in-Mexico policy will remain on hold while other legal challenges play out. President Biden wants to end the policy while Republicans have fought to reinstate it.

The policy requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico until their hearings in U.S. immigration court.

Winter storm threatens Northeast

Although the winter season technically doesn’t begin until next week, the weather that blanketed our country this week was an unwelcoming early start. Mounds of snow have piled up in the Midwest, as blizzard warnings now cover most of the Northeast. Heavy snow and a significant amount of ice are expected to come down on 15 million Americans.

Ice storms threaten electricity and power with unbearable freezing temperatures outside. The winter storm threat is expected to last in the Northeast through the weekend.

Twitter suspends journalists’ accounts

Elon Musk went on a suspension spree of Twitter accounts belonging to half a dozen journalists. Including journalists from CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.

It came a day after Musk suspended a Twitter account that was posting real-time location data of his private jet, which a stalker allegedly used to follow his children.

Musk said any Twitter user posting live-location information will disappear from the platform. He added that the journalists continued to post that information, calling it “basically assassination coordinates” for him and his family.

Nearly half of young adults living with parents

A new study shows nearly half of young adults are still living with their parents: 48% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are living at home with their parents.

Ninety percent of those living at home say it’s to save money or they can’t afford living on their own.

Of the young adults living at home, only one in five are paying rent to their parents. And most of them are paying less than $500 to cover their living expenses.