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Today's top stories
TikTok and the Department of Justice are headed to the Supreme Court, where justices could decide whether a law banning the app next month unless it is sold is constitutional. The high court accepted TikTok's emergency request to hear arguments about the law and the justices moved quickly and deliberately. Oral arguments have been set for Jan. 10, which is nine days before the app's sell-or-be-banned deadline.
- 🎧 This is TikTok's last legal shot to not have to shut down in the U.S., unless it splits off from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, NPR's Bobby Allyn tells Up First. The case is about the balance between freedom of speech and the possible threat of a foreign adversary. TikTok has said the Chinese government doesn't collect data on Americans nor does it push propaganda, but U.S. officials said the risk remains too high. The Supreme Court has never taken on the case over the U.S. government attempting to shut down a massive social media platform, which makes this uncharted territory, Allyn says.
Republican lawmakers are working to avoid a government shutdown with less than a week until Christmas after President-elect Donald Trump and allies spoke out against a bipartisan spending bill. Government funding runs out at the end of the day on Friday. Congressional leaders released a roughly 1,500-page bipartisan spending bill, which would fund the government until March 14 and covers priorities like farm subsidies, disaster aid and a pay raise for lawmakers. Yesterday, GOP leaders and Trump advisers pushed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to back out of the deal. House Democrats said they are unwilling to back away.
Syrians and refugees on either side of the country's conflict can go home now that dictator Bashar al-Assad has been ousted. The country is now accessible to journalists, allowing for a fuller look at it while in transition.
- 🎧 NPR's Jane Arraf, who is in Syria, says Damascus has drastically changed since the fall of the Assad regime. Arraf traveled through Syria's southern desert to the Rukban camp — a place she's tried to travel to for years. People fleeing from ISIS thought they could cross through to Jordan there, but were trapped. For nine years, 7,000 people were cut off. For the first time, refugees in their own country have the opportunity to go home and reunite with their families.
Today's listen
It's the time of year when familiar Christmas songs take over the top spots on the Billboard pop chart. The annual invasion features the current top five songs from the 1950s and '60s. When the No. 1 song, Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," was released in 1994 it didn't take the top spot. That happened 25 years later. The top five songs this week are predictable year after year, but a few newer songs are making a play to join in on the annual holiday playlist. Learn what changed since those songs were released and listen to some of the holiday music vying for top spots.
Life advice
As days get darker and colder, people may experience seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. As the seasons change, you may feel sluggish, depressed or uninterested in doing the things you used to enjoy. You may also oversleep or overeat. Around 1 in 20 people in the U.S. has SAD. Many more people have the winter blues, a milder version of SAD, where you feel like a sadder, sleepier or slower version of yourself. Here's how to spot it and what you can do.
- ❄️ It can be hard to recognize a pattern of change because symptoms can creep up on you, says Dr. Norman Rosenthal, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine.
- ❄️ Not getting enough light is at the heart of the disorder. A SAD lamp, which provides more intense light than indoor lighting, is often recommended.
- ❄️ Make time for movement. You may feel less energetic when the seasons change, and that can turn into a vicious cycle. Exercise is an environmental cue that helps signal your internal clock.
Here's more on why you may feel this way and ways to feel better.
3 things to know before you go
- Thousands of Amazon workers have authorized a strike to begin this morning, during a key shopping period, as they seek better pay, safer conditions and longer breaks.
- This week, the House of Representatives passed a bill to officially designate the bald eagle, a symbol of the United States for centuries, as the country's national bird.
- Have you ever been caught red-handed regifting during the holidays? If the answer is yes, NPR wants to hear your stories. The more embarrassing they are, the better.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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