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With hours to go before a midnight government shutdown, the House has approved a new plan from House Speaker Mike Johnson that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but dropped President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt lim…
With hours to go before a midnight government shutdown, the House approved a new plan from House Speaker Mike Johnson that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but dropped President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.
The vote came a day after the House rejected Trump’s new plan to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate his sudden demands.
Here's the latest:
“I have very good news for my colleagues and for the country,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in announcing a time agreement for the vote.
And while the bill won’t get to President Joe Biden to be signed into law before funding lapses, don’t expect to see an impact on government operations.
There will not be agency furloughs, and most federal workers are already off the clock over the weekend anyhow.
According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a budget watchdog, 10 funding gaps of three days or fewer have occurred since 1981. Most took place over a weekend, when government operations were only minimally affected.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Senate Republicans and Democrats have reached an agreement that will allow them to take a vote late Friday on the government funding package.
Schumer said on the Senate floor that the time agreement would allow passage “before the midnight deadline.”
There will be a series of votes ahead of final passage, but support for the legislation is clear in the Senate.
In a late-night maneuver, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill that authorizes research on pediatric cancer after a similar proposal was cut when House Republicans abandoned the first funding deal this week.
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, pushed a bill to final passage through unanimous consent — a rarely successful procedure that allowed quick approval because no senator objected. It extends for five years a program at the National Institutes of Health to research pediatric cancer and other diseases.
The government funding legislation that passed the House earlier Friday was a slimmed-down package from a deal that congressional leaders initially reached. Some Republicans, along with Elon Musk, celebrated that as a victory, but Democrats singled out the pediatric cancer research funding as an example of the things they were cutting.
The cancer research bill that gained final approval authorizes the program for a shorter period than congressional proponents had hoped, however, and other health research from the first funding proposal was still abandoned.
The Senate is moving to a final vote on a proposal to boost Social Security payments for millions of people, potentially pushing a longtime priority for former public employees through Congress in one of its last acts for the year.
The bipartisan bill would eliminate longtime reductions to Social Security benefits for nearly 3 million people who receive pensions because they worked in federal, state and local government, or public service jobs like teachers, firefighters and police officers. Advocates say the Social Security Fairness Act rights a decades-old disparity, though it would also further strain Social Security Trust Funds.
The legislation has been decades in the making, but the push to pass it came together in the final weeks that lawmakers were in Washington before Congress resets next year. All Senate Democrats except one, as well as 23 Republicans, supported the effort to bring it to a final vote.
▶ Read more about the Social Security legislation
President Joe Biden secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency, an accomplishment that exceeds his predecessor’s total by one after Democrats put extra emphasis on the federal courts following Donald Trump’s far-reaching first term, when he filled three seats on the Supreme Court.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., teed up votes on two California district judges, and they were likely to be the last judicial confirmations this year before Congress adjourns and makes way for a new, Republican-led Senate.
The confirmation of Serena Raquel Murillo to be a district judge for the Central District of California broke Trump’s mark. Come next year, Republicans will look to boost Trump’s already considerable influence on the makeup of the federal judiciary in his second term.
▶ Read more about the judges’ confirmation
Johnny Zuagar says he’s tried to hide his worries about a potential government shutdown from his three boys as he weighs how much to spend on Christmas presents.
“I’ve got to keep a poker face,” Zuagar, a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau, said when thinking about his boys, ages 14, 12 and 6. “You’re just trying to take that worry off of your family.”
Like thousands of federal workers, Zuagar is navigating the holidays with the spirit of the season overtaken by an air of gloom and uncertainty.
The turbulent efforts in Congress to reach an agreement on funding the federal government have cast a cloud over the holidays for many federal workers facing possible furloughs in the days before Christmas. The House on Friday passed a three-month government spending bill just hours before a government shutdown, but its fate in the Senate was uncertain as the deadline loomed.
▶ Read more about federal workers
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spoke with both President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk around the time of the vote on the government funding package.
Trump understood “exactly what we were doing, and why,” Johnson said. “I think he was certainly happy about the outcome, as well.”
As for Musk, who has been suggested by some as a replacement as speaker, Johnson said they talked about “the extraordinary challenges of the job.”
“I said, hey, you want to be House speaker? I don’t know,” Johnson said.
Musk told him, “This may be the hardest job in the world,” Johnson said.
Hakeem Jeffries, whose support would make or break Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan, called the House’s passage of the government funding bill “a victory for the American people.”
House Democrats helped squash Trump’s insistence on a debt ceiling increase by voting against the earlier bill. But on Friday they put up more votes than Republicans to push the final package to passage.
“The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting the working class Americans all across the nation,” Jeffries said.
Legislation to avoid a government shutdown passed by the House is now heading across the Capitol, where senators are hoping to act before the midnight deadline.
With only hours to go, a process that normally takes days will have a much faster timeline. First, House staff will physically walk the bill over to the Senate. Then Senate leadership – still Democrats until Jan. 3 – will have to negotiate with Republicans to speed up the normally lengthy process to get the bill passed in time.
While it may take a few hours to figure out, senators are less likely to object to a quick vote as most of them are eyeing plane flights out of Washington for the holidays.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hopes the bill will pass “as soon as possible.”
“The House has overwhelmingly passed a bill to keep the government open and I’m confident the Senate will pass it as well,” he said.
If the Senate passes the bill, it will then go to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature.
Hours to go before a midnight government shutdown, the House approved a new plan late Friday from Speaker Mike Johnson that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but drops President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.
Johnson insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day’s outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”
The bill was approved 366-34 and now goes to the Senate for expected quick passage.
President-elect Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, railing against the plan in more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims.
Not only did the owner of the social platform X, an unelected figure, use his outsize influence on the platform to help sway Congress, he did so without regard for the facts and gave a preview of the role he could play over the next four years.
“Trump has got himself a handful with Musk,” said John Mark Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago. “Trump’s done this kind of thing before, blowing up a bill at the last minute. This time, though, it looks like he was afraid of Musk upstaging him. Now there’s a new social media bully in town, pushing the champion social media bully around.”
▶ Read more about Musk, the spending bill and misinformation on X
House Speaker Mike Johnson has set a vote for Friday evening on a new plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but punted President-elect Donald Trump demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.
The outcome is uncertain. Johnson declined to disclose the new idea under consideration, but lawmakers said it would fund the government at current levels through March and adds $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.
The vote comes ahead of a potential government shutdown at midnight.
“Depending on if the House can execute, I think we could probably tee everything out for later today,” said Sen. John Thune, who’ll take over as Senate majority leader in January.
“I think at this point, my view is we should accept whatever the House can pass,” said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.
“And given the time of year and proximity to Christmas, I don’t think people want to hang around here any longer than they have to. And we’re going to do this all over again in three months,” Cornyn continued.
“Right now it looks like we’ll probably get out by tomorrow,” said Sen. Thom Thillis of North Carolina. But he added that senators were mostly waiting for the House to order itself.
“The work’s in the House. We’re ready to go, we just need something to react to,” Tillis said.
In his last floor speech Friday as the Senate’s Republican leader, McConnell said he’ll use his remaining time in the Senate to restore “American leadership and American strength,” pushing back on a growing number in his party, including President-elect Donald Trump, who have embraced U.S. isolationism.
He also warned that Republicans could “pay a political price” if they don’t pass legislation keeping the government open by midnight Friday. The Kentucky Republican said he’s has reminded his colleagues “how harmful it is to shut the government down and how foolish it is to bet your own side won’t take the blame for it.”
“As a bargaining chip, you pay a political price,” McConnell said.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the current No. 2 Senate Republican, will take over for McConnell in January when he steps down and as Republicans take the majority. McConnell will stay in the Senate at least until his term expires in two years.
There’s been plenty of criticism leveled at House Speaker Mike Johnson this week as Congress struggles to avert a government shutdown, and at least one Republican lawmaker says he won’t vote for Johnson to remain as speaker next year.
Rep. Thomas Massie, a longtime critic of Johnson, told reporters his determination to oppose Johnson has only been cemented by the speaker’s latest decision to depend on Democrats to pass a government funding bill. Republicans will have a thin majority next year, meaning Johnson can only lose a few votes in the speaker election on Jan. 3.
“I’m not going to vote for him for speaker,” said Massie. “This whole exercise demonstrates that he has a hard time making decisions, he comes up with ideas that don’t work and then we just kind of wander around trying to find a path forward until he figures out what” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will accept.
It’s also not clear whether — and how strongly — President-elect Donald Trump will back Johnson. The incoming president has so far been supportive of the speaker, but said this week he needed to show he could drive a tough deal. Johnson ultimately failed to include Trump’s demand to lift the nation’s debt ceiling in the legislation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson says Republicans had reached a consensus on a deal to fund the government but provided no details on its contours.
“We have a unified Republican Conference. There is a unanimous agreement in the room that we need to move forward,” Johnson told reporters as he exited a House GOP conference meeting.
“I will not telegraph to you the specific details of that yet, because I’ve got a couple of things I got to wrap up in a few moments upstairs, but I expect that we will be proceeding forward,” he said.
“We will not have a government shutdown,” Johnson declared.
The speaker added that lawmakers “will meet our obligations for our farmers who aid for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services and everyone who relies upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays. I’ll give you the more details here in just a few moments.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters Republicans are still debating the contours of a new budget deal but “ultimately we will bring something to the floor, either through a suspension or a rule, and we’re making that decision.”
Scalise noted that they were examining the role of the debt ceiling in a potential deal but didn’t elaborate further.
When asked whether Trump was briefed on the plan, Scalise replied: “The president’s very interested in how his administration will start in January. So we want to be on a footing for success, so that we can move that agenda through. We have a very bold agenda that starts in January.”
House Republicans are huddled in the Capitol basement as leadership tries to find a path forward that would prevent an extended government shutdown.
So far, Republicans who were in the meeting have said they’re only discussing options on how to advance a stopgap government funding bill, as well as disaster aid and financial help for farmers.
“They haven’t made any decisions about what they’re going to bring forward yet,” said Rep. Matt Rosendale, a Montana Republican.
Rep. Chip Roy, a Freedom Caucus member who voted down the recent Trump-backed budget bill, left the meeting in a rush as lawmakers haggled.
“I’m not going to say a word, I’ve got somewhere to be,” Roy told reporters as he exited the room.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back after getting numerous questions at her daily briefing Friday about why President Biden hasn’t spoken publicly about the possibility of a government shutdown.
“This is not for the president to fix,” she said. “Republicans need to fix the mess that they caused.”
President Joe Biden has discussed the potential shutdown with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.
“There’s still time,” Jean-Pierre said, to avoid a partial government shutdown.
She said Republicans created the situation and are responsible for fixing it.
“Republicans blew up this deal. They did, and they need to fix this,” Jean-Pierre said.
That could involve splitting up the previous efforts — government funding, disaster and agricultural aid into separate votes — with a debt ceiling vote potentially later.
They’re meeting privately during the lunch hour to discuss next steps, with a shutdown less than 12 hours away.
That’s according to multiple people who received an update in a closed door Democratic Caucus meeting.
But there was no discussion in the meeting on whether a deal is being discussed or the details of legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson to return to a stopgap funding agreement he had negotiated with Democrats.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, called that agreement in a floor speech Friday morning “the quickest, simplest, and easiest way we can make sure the government stays open while delivering critical emergency aid to the American people.”
Johnson abandoned that legislation earlier this week after first Elon Musk, then President-elect Donald Trump opposed it. But the Republican speaker is facing few options to avert a government shutdown at the end of the day while also appeasing the demands of his fellow Republicans.
Democratic leaders so far have demanded that he stick to their deal in order to gain their support to pass it through Congress.
Friday morning, Trump continued his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — and if not, let the closures “begin now.”
He issued his latest demand as Speaker Johnson arrived early at the Capitol, instantly holing up with Vice President-elect JD Vance and some of the most conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus who helped sink Trump’s bill in a spectacular Thursday evening flop.
“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,” Trump posted on social media.
Trump does not fear government shutdowns the way Johnson and the lawmakers see federal closures as political losers that harm the livelihoods of Americans. The incoming Trump administration vows to slash the federal budget and fire thousands of employees. Trump himself sparked the longest government shutdown in history in his first term at the White House.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries laid blame for the failure of a package to fund the federal government on Republican donors and the GOP’s economic agenda.
“Republicans would rather cut taxes for billionaire donors than fund research for children with cancer,” Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote on the social media platform Bluesky.
The House Democrat’s leader further predicted a government shutdown “will crash the economy, hurt working class Americans and likely be the longest in history.”
“Welcome back to the MAGA swamp,” he concluded.
Before 9 a.m., a number of the speaker’s biggest critics brought their grievances to a private meeting as a shutdown deadline looms over Capitol Hill. Reps. Chip Roy, Andy Biggs, Bob Good and others, all who voted against the Trump-backed plan Thursday, met with Johnson as Republicans look for a way forward on a short-term spending deal that includes a suspension of the nation’s debt limit.
Good of Virginia came out and said he would surprised if there was a vote Friday on any path forward. Moments later, Rep. Lauren Boebert said Republicans were making progress and having Vice President-elect JD Vance in the room is helping move things toward a resolution that can get a majority on the floor.
“I think President Trump was possibly, sold a bad bill yesterday,” the Colorado lawmaker said. “I did not want to see a failure on the House floor for the first demand that President Trump is making.”
But, she added, the failure on the floor has forced many of her colleagues to come together Friday.
As the speaker twisted Thursday in Washington, his peril was on display at Turning Point USA’s conservative AmericaFest confab, where Trump ally and 2016 campaign architect Steven Bannon stirred thousands with a takedown of the Louisiana Republican.
“Clearly, Johnson is not up to the task. He’s gotta go. He’s gotta go,” Bannon said, drawing cheers and whistles.
Bannon, both a bellwether of and influencer on the mood among Trump’s core supporters, wasn’t done.
“He doesn’t have what we call the right stuff — that combination of guts and moxie and savvy and toughness,” he said, comparing Johnson, a reserved, polite lawyer, to the gleeful brutishness of the president-elect and his populist backers. “You can punch MAGA in the face and they’re going to get up off the canvas, and they’re going to punch you back three times harder.”
Bannon didn’t float a replacement for Johnson but emphasized that the job description for any speaker — and every other Republican in Washington — is simple: “We have nothing to discuss. It’s only about the execution of President Trump’s plan.”
And he called Thursday’s proposed deal “laughable.”
“It’s not a serious proposal,” Jeffries said as he walked to Democrats’ own closed-door caucus meeting. Inside, Democrats were chanting, “Hell, no!”
Coming and going outside Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Thursday night, House Republicans offered little clarity on a path forward for a budget deal after a Trump-endorsed proposal failed to pass.
Rep. Kat Cammack, a Republican who voted against the bill, told reporters that “this was not an easy vote for constitutional conservatives.” She added, “We’re going to work through the night and figure out a plan.”
“We are still working diligently. and we are still making progress,” Rep. Lisa McClain said, without offering further details.
“We tried several things today most of our members went for, but the Democrats decided that they want to try and shut it down, but we’re going to keep working,” Rep. Steve Scalise, the Republican majority leader, told reporters. Nearly three dozen Republicans joined Democrats in voting down the resolution.
Vice President Kamala Harris cancelled a planned trip to Los Angeles with Washington on the verge of a government shutdown.
She had been scheduled to travel to her home state late Thursday, but instead will remain in the capital, the White House said, after Republicans backed away from a bipartisan compromise to fund the government.
The House rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s new plan Thursday to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling.
In a hastily convened evening vote punctuated by angry outbursts over the self-made crisis, the lawmakers failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for passage — but House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared determined to reassess, before Friday’s midnight deadline.
“We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” Johnson said after the vote. The cobbled-together plan didn’t even get a majority, with the bill failing 174-235.
The outcome proved a massive setback for Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, who rampaged against Johnson’s bipartisan compromise, which Republicans and Democrats had reached earlier to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown.
▶ Read more about the vote and where things stand
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CBD oil has natural anti-inflammatory properties and can be beneficial for mental health, heart health, and more!
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil is a product that’s derived from cannabis. It’s a type of cannabinoid, which are the chemicals naturally found in cannabis plants. Even though it comes from cannabis plants, CBD doesn’t create a “high” effect or any form of intoxication — that’s caused by another cannabinoid, known as THC.
There’s some controversy around cannabis products like CBD oil because of recreational cannabis use. But there’s growing awareness about the possible health benefits of CBD oil. Here’s what you need to know about six potential medical uses of CBD and where the research stands:
CBD may be able to help you manage anxiety. Researchers think it may change the way your brain’s receptors respond to serotonin, a chemical linked to mental health. Receptors are tiny proteins attached to your cells that receive chemical messages and help your cells respond to different stimuli.
One study found that a 600mg dose of CBD helped people with social anxiety give a speech. Other early studies done with animals have shown that CBD may help relieve anxiety by:
CBD has been in the news before, as a possible treatment for epilepsy. Research is still in its early days. Researchers are testing how much CBD is able to reduce the number of seizures in people with epilepsy, as well as how safe it is. The American Epilepsy Society states that cannabidiol research offers hope for seizure disorders, and that research is currently being conducted to better understand safe use.
A study from 2016 worked with 214 people with epilepsy. The study participants added oral doses of 2 to 5mg of CBD per day to their existing anti-epilepsy medications. The study’s researchers monitored the participants for 12 weeks, recording any negative side effects and checking on the frequency of their seizures. Overall, participants had 36.5 percent fewer seizures per month. However, severe adverse effects were recorded in 12 percent of the participants.
Researchers are looking at a receptor located in the brain to learn about the ways that CBD could help people with neurodegenerative disorders, which are diseases that cause the brain and nerves to deteriorate over time. This receptor is known as CB1.
Researchers are studying the use of CBD oil for treating:
CBD oil may also reduce the inflammation that can make neurodegenerative symptoms worse. More research is needed to fully understand the effects of CBD oil on neurodegenerative diseases.
The effects of CBD oil on your brain’s receptors may also help you manage pain. Studies have shown that cannabis can offer some benefits when taken after chemotherapy treatments. Other pre-clinical studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health are also looking at the role of cannabis in relieving symptoms caused by:
Nabiximols (Sativex), a multiple sclerosis drug made from a combination of TCH and CBD, is approved in the United Kingdom and Canada to treat MS pain. However, researchers think the CBD in the drug may be contributing more with its anti-inflammatory properties than by acting against the pain. Clinical trials of CBD are necessary to determine whether or not it should be used for pain management.
The effects of CBD on receptors in the immune system may help reduce overall inflammation in the body. In turn, CBD oil may offer benefits for acne management. A human study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigationfound that the oil prevented activity in sebaceous glands. These glands are responsible for producing sebum, a natural oily substance that hydrates the skin. Too much sebum, however, can lead to acne.
Before you consider CBD oil for acne treatment, it’s worth discussing with your dermatologist. More human studies are needed to evaluate the potential benefits of CBD for acne.
Some studies have investigated the role of CBD in preventing cancer cell growth, but research is still in its early stages. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) says that CBD may help alleviate cancer symptoms and cancer treatment side effects. However, the NCI doesn’t fully endorse any form of cannabis as a cancer treatment. The action of CBD that’s promising for cancer treatment is its ability to moderate inflammation and change how cells reproduce. CBD has the effect of reducing the ability of some types of tumor cells to reproduce.
CBD is extracted from cannabis plants as either an oil or powder. These can be mixed into creams or gels. They can be put into capsules and taken orally, or rubbed on your skin. The multiple sclerosis drug nabiximols is sprayed as a liquid into your mouth. How CBD should be used depends largely on what it’s being used for. Talk with your doctor before using CBD oil. It hasn’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for any medical uses, and it can have side effects.
CBD oil usually doesn’t have any major risks for users. However, side effects are possible. These include:
More human studies are needed to fully understand the range of risks and side effects that CBD oil may cause. Studies of CBD oil aren’t common. This is partially because Schedule 1 substances like cannabis are highly regulated, causing some obstacles for researchers. With the legalization of cannabis products, more research is possible, and more answers will come.
CBD oil isn’t legal everywhere. In the United States, CBD oil is legal in some states, but not all. Certain states that have legalized CBD for medical use may require users to apply for special licensing. It’s also important to know that the FDA hasn’t approved CBD for any medical conditions.
Is CBD Legal? Hemp-derived CBD products (with less than 0.3 percent THC) are legal on the federal level, but are still illegal under some state laws. Marijuana-derived CBD products are illegal on the federal level, but are legal under some state laws. Check your state’s laws and those of anywhere you travel. Keep in mind that nonprescription CBD products are not FDA-approved, and may be inaccurately labeled.
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By Jason Hall
December 21, 2024
The Mega Millions jackpot will rollover on Tuesday (December 24) after zero players matched all six numbers during the $862 million drawing Friday (December 20) night.
The jackpot will now increase to an estimated $944 million ($429.4 million cash value) for Tuesday night’s drawing.
Results from Friday’s Mega Millions game are listed below:
NUMBERS: 2-20-51-56-67
GOLD BALL: 19
MEGAPLIER: 2x
The Mega Millions jackpot reset after a single ticket sold in Texas matched all six numbers during the estimated $800 million Mega Millions drawing on September 10. The Mega Millions jackpot reset after a player in Illinois won the $560 million drawing on June 4.
The jackpot previously reset after a player in New Jersey won the $1.13 billion drawing on March 26, which was the fifth largest in the game’s history and the eighth largest in U.S. history. The Mega Millions jackpot previously reset after two players in California won the $395 million drawing on December 8.
In January 2023, the jackpot reset four times, which included one player in Maine winning the estimated $1.35 billion drawing on January 14, one player in New York winning the following $20 million drawing on January 17, one player in Massachusetts winning the $31 million drawing on January 24 and another player in Massachusetts winning the $31 million drawing on January 31. The January 14, 2023 Mega Millions drawing was the second-highest in the game’s history and offered the fourth-largest jackpot in the U.S. lottery history.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are reported to be 1 in 302.5 million, according to MegaMillions.com.
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Photo By Jennifer Leggett | Sgt. Brian Bills, religious support specialist with the PoM Religious Support Office,…… read more read more
Photo By Jennifer Leggett | Sgt. Brian Bills, religious support specialist with the PoM Religious Support Office, introduces incoming service members to the office’s diverse spiritual resources and services during a Joint Service In-Brief at the Presidio of Monterey, Monterey, Calif., Dec. 10.  see less | View Image Page
PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. (December 20, 2024) – The Religious Support Office at the Presidio of Monterey plays a vital role in supporting the spiritual well-being and resilience of the Monterey military community.

Sgt. Brian Bills enjoys his work as a religious support specialist because of the meaningful connections that he makes with service members daily. In carrying out his duties to provide religious support and advisement to all service members who seek it, Bills says bigger topics often begin with basic introductions and simple conversations.

“I’ll set up video games on the projection screen in the chapel and people will stop by and play and then they just start talking and sharing what’s stressing them and we’ll all just talk,” Bills said. “Being available and present in the moment is sometimes just what’s needed.”

The PoM RSO currently coordinates the general protestant service, Catholic mass and confessions, Buddhists meditations, Islamic Jum’ah, and transportation to Jewish and LDS services in the Monterey community. There are even target language Bible studies, offering both opportunities to build community and practice their language of study.

Ken Mehmet Stewart, a retired Army officer and a distinguished religious group leader for the Islamic faith at PoM emphasized the importance of inclusivity and creating a space where people from all backgrounds and faiths feel welcomed and included.

“Islam is a very big tent, and there’s room underneath that tent for everybody,” Stewart said. “Regardless of their individual faith journeys that brought them, I want them to feel at home and welcome.”

While RSO is a small team, they remain flexible and provide solutions to meet the needs of the community. When Bills learned that a group of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints soldiers were missing out on the tradition of watching the church’s general conference broadcast, Bills invited them over for a viewing party and provided snacks.

“It really made us feel like we were still part of a bigger community, even when we were stuck on base, said Pfc. Kyle Zierow of the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion. “It was a small act of kindness that made a huge difference, and I’m grateful for his care and support.”

Beyond religious support, the RSO serves as a hub for connecting people with other resources at PoM like financial counseling, run clubs, jujitsu groups, MWR activities and B.O.S.S activities.

“We want to meet with people as much as they need, but we also work closely with the other support services at ACS and look to connect service members with specialists who can provide on-going and practical support,” Bills said.

The RSO is a vital part of Army life and promotes a sense of community and belonging through worship services and additional activities. By collaborating with other support services to provide comprehensive care, the RSO helps the Monterey military community navigate the challenges of military life.

The RSO invites all service members to participate in the diverse offerings of faith communities at PoM. Christmas season services will be in the PoM chapel. The general protestants service will be Tuesday, Christmas Eve, at 6 p.m. The Catholic Christmas Mass will be Wednesday, Christmas Day, at 11 a.m. For more information, service members can contact the office at (831) 242-5281 or (831) 242-5233.
This work, Presidio of Monterey’s Religious Support Office fosters spiritual resilience, by Jennifer Leggett, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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Dec 21, 2024 | Press Releases
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) announced today that H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), is headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law following passage in the House and U.S. Senate.

 
“Fairness for our elders at last, praise God fairness for our beloved elders at last. We have broken the yoke of unrighteous law and followed God’s Commandment to honor our Mothers and Fathers,” said Congressman Higgins.

 
Congressman Higgins has been one of the strongest and most vocal advocates for the bill, which repeals the unjust Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) that penalize millions of public workers across the United States.

For seven years, Congressman Higgins has advocated for passage of the Social Security Fairness Act. He has been a co-sponsor of the legislation in every Congress that he has served.

 
His efforts include:

Additionally, Congressman Higgins has published dozens of press releases, emails to constituents, and social media posts reaching millions of viewers explaining the SSFA and encouraging support, including unique videos updating the American people on the bill.
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Everything is one and interconnected.
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For the past 50 or so years, Richard Rohr has impacted Christian spirituality in North America and worldwide. He has published 37 books on spirituality, is loved by Protestants, Anglicans and Catholics, and has hundreds of thousands of followers who receive his meditations in their email every day.

Those who know him acknowledge him as one of the world’s wisest teachers.
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Rohr is an American Franciscan priest, and his main influences, besides Jesus, have been Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, and Saint Francis of Assisi. He is 81 and lives in Albuquerque, N.M., where he founded the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in 1987, which will carry on his legacy.

Recently, the staff of CAC asked him to identify the key themes, values, principles or overarching ideas in his work so they could use them to guide the center when he is gone. After several months, he taught them seven key themes, which I will paraphrase.

A Benevolent universe. If Jesus is God incarnate, he repeatedly shows us by his words and deeds that God is purely good, loving and merciful. This being so, God has created a universe which is geared to help human beings, and all creatures, to thrive. Although it may seem otherwise on the surface, we can trust that things are fundamentally “very good,” as it says in the first chapter of the Bible (Genesis 1:1-31).

Everything is sacred. There is no secular-sacred split. Religions often have taught that only the synagogue, church, temple or mosque are sacred places, and the rabbi, priest, minister, guru, imam or saint are the only sacred people. Nature is sacred, or, as Matthew Fox, an Episcopal priest and another great interpreter of Christianity, says, “Nature is grace.” Rohr, Fox and Indigenous Peoples would agree, if nature is grace, we must not abuse it. Not emphasizing the sacredness of nature has caused our present climate crisis.

Everything and everyone belongs. The title of Rohr’s most popular book says it all: Everything Belongs. It follows from the second theme that if everything is sacred, then there is nothing and no one people should exclude from their lives. All people of all countries, races, genders, sexual orientations and financial levels should be welcomed in all political, health care, educational and religious organizations.

Individualism is a problem. All world religions recognize that the ego, the small, false self that thinks it is separate from everyone else, superior to everyone, and wants to lord it over others, is problematic. We are, by nature, communal, social beings; we all need love, and social justice is the proper distribution of love in society. Therefore, community and social justice are integral to the spiritual life, not an afterthought.

Personal experience must be checked against scripture and tradition. Experience is the front wheel of Rohr’s tricycle analogy. You first must ask, “Does this teaching make sense to me, given my life experience so far?” If yes, you need to check it against the back wheels of communal wisdom. “Is it congruent with my tradition’s sacred writings and history?”

Descent, not ascent, is the way of transformation. When we run into problems, obstacles, and suffering, we grow the most spiritually. When everything is sunny, believing is easy. However, when you are like the prophet Job, who lost everything – his family, health, and wealth – or like Jesus on the cross, you find out if you really have faith or not. Another popular Rohr book, Falling Upward, goes into depth about this.

Nondual consciousness is the goal. Realizing everything is one and interconnected ties together all the other themes. The goal is to be fully united in love with God, your true self, others and nature.

Let us all try living these themes, values, and principles at Christmas and in 2025!

Bruce Tallman is a spiritual director and educator of adults in religion. brucetallman.com

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By Lauren Taylor (Anchor), Roey Hadar (Producer), Harry Fogle (Video Editor)
President Joe Biden may commute the sentences of most or all of the 40 men on death row, according to a Wall Street Journal report. If Biden commutes the sentences, the men would stay in jail on life sentences without the possibility of parole.
It would create an early hurdle for President-elect Donald Trump. He wants to resume federal executions and expand the use of the federal death penalty.
Attorney General Merrick Garland halted federal executions in 2021, during the early months of the Biden administration.
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The Journal reports Garland is one of several key voices in the White House’s death penalty debate. They said the attorney general recommended Biden commute most sentences, except for a handful of cases involving terrorism and hate crimes.
Three possible exceptions include Dzokhar Tsarnaev, convicted of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings; Robert Bowers, convicted of the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting; and Dylann Roof, convicted of the 2015 shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Biden is weighing the move amid pressure from civil rights groups and religious leaders. Pope Francis prayed for commutations for Americans on death row in his weekly address earlier this month.
Biden, a devout Catholic, spoke with Francis on Thursday, Dec. 20, and will head to the Vatican next month before leaving office.
The move would override Justice Department prosecutors under both Democratic and Republican presidents who asked for death sentences.
DOJ prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the perpetrator of the 2022 shooting at Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y.
Republicans condemned the prospect of Biden commuting most or all federal death sentences. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., warned the move would weaken the government’s condemnation of harsh offenses.
“It would mean that society’s most forceful condemnation of white supremacy and antisemitism must give way to legal mumbo jumbo,” McConnell said. “The irony of claims of systemic racism causing the president to spare Dylann Roof is ludicrous, ludicrous to the point of tragedy.”
It’s unclear whether any of Biden’s commutations would affect the four inmates on the military’s death row.
The move would also not affect any death sentences in states that use the death penalty for state-level crimes.
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LAUREN TAYLOR: President Joe Biden may soon take the highly consequential – and controversial – step of commuting the sentences of most – and possibly all – the 40 men on death row… according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
If Biden commutes the sentences, the 40 men, all convicted for murder, would still be held in jail on life sentences with no possibility of parole.
It would create an early hurdle for President-elect Donald Trump, who wants to resume federal executions and expand the use of the federal death penalty to include migrants who kill U.S. citizens, child rapists and people convicted of drug or human trafficking.
Attorney General Merrick Garland halted federal executions in 2021, in the early months of the Biden administration.
The Journal reports Garland is one of several key voices in the death penalty debate in the White House, and that the attorney general recommended Biden commute most sentences, except for a handful of terrorism and hate-crime related cases.
Three possible exceptions whose sentences Biden may *not* commute are Dzokhar Tsarnaev, convicted of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Robert Bowers, convicted of the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, and Dylann Roof, convicted of the 2015 shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Biden is weighing the move amid pressure from civil rights groups and religious leaders, includinh Pope Francis.
The pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church prayed for the commutation of the sentences of the Americans on death row in his weekly address earlier this month.
President Biden, a devout Catholic, spoke with Francis Thursday and will head to the Vatican next month before leaving office.
The move would override the decisions of Justice Department prosecutors under both Democratic and Republican presidents to ask for death sentences.
The Justice Department is currently seeking the death penalty for the shooter convicted in state court for the 2022 shooting at the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Republicans condemned the prospect of Biden commuting most or all federal death sentences, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warning the move would weaken the government’s condemnation of some of the worst offenses possible.
Sen. Mitch McConnell / (R)-KY – Senate Minority Leader: “It would mean that society’s most forceful condemnation of white supremacy and antisemitism must give way to legal mumbo jumbo. The irony of claims of systemic racism causing the president to spare Dylann Roof is ludicrous, ludicrous to the point of tragedy.”
LAUREN TAYLOR: It’s unclear whether any commutations by President Biden would affect the four inmates on death row in the military’s court system.
The move would also not affect any death sentences in states that use the death penalty for state-level crimes.
For Straight Arrow News, I’m Lauren Taylor.
And for all the latest updates on this and other top stories, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit SAN.com.
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