• It's looking like the partial government shut down will last until after Christmas and potentially until after New Years as well.
• Earlier this week, the House passed a continuing resolution keeping the government open until February and added $5.7 billion for border wall funding.
• Senate Democrats have refused to allow a vote on the bill, denying Republicans the 60 votes they need to shut off debate. But it's not just the filibuster at work here. There's a statutory 60-vote threshold on budget motions under the Budget Act.
• Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has been talking with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and has offered a new proposal between President Trump's $5.7 billion request and the $1.3 billion offered by Democrats.
• A stalemate over wall funding led parts of the government to shut down on Saturday when funding for numerous departments and agencies expired.
• Democrats are vowing not to give in and most Republicans are encouraging President Trump stick to his guns as well.
• The shutdown was expected to last through Thursday after the House and Senate, which held rare weekend sessions, adjourned until later in the week.
• Since Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are federal holidays (thanks to President Trump, who just recently made Christmas Eve a federal holiday last week), Wednesday would be the first day that federal employees may be feeling the effects of the shutdown.
• Virtually every essential government agency, including the FBI, the Border Patrol and the Coast Guard, will remain open. Transportation Security Administration officers will staff airport checkpoints.
• You can read more about the shutdown HERE.

• An eruption of one of the world's most infamous volcanic islands is believed to have triggered a tsunami that killed at least 222 people in Indonesia this weekend.
• Apparently the waves smashed into the shore line without notice, sweeping away houses, hotels and a beach concert happening at the time.
• More than 800 people were injured and dozens more missing after the tsunami hit around the Sunda Strait at 9:27 p.m. Saturday
• The toll of the injured and missing will probably continue to rise as search and rescue teams continue to keep working through the rubble.
• Scientists said Sunday that the tsunami could have been caused by underwater landslides or those occurring above ground on Anak Krakatau's steep slope following its eruption.
• Reports are saying that the size of the waves were not as large as other recorded tsunami's, like the 2004 tsunami, but since residents didn't feel a tremor from an earthquake many did not leave the shoreline and there for the loss of life could be comparable to a larger tsunami.
• You can read more about the disaster HERE.

• The Carnegie Foundation has recognized both universities with its “Very High Research Activity” status in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
• University of Alabama has also been awarded the Carnegie designation as a Community Engaged Institution.
• Research funding, staff and the number of doctoral graduates are among the criteria used in determining Carnegie classifications.
• In a statement, Auburn President Steven Leath said the “tremendous designation acknowledges the hard work involved in the pioneering discoveries happening at Auburn every day.”
• Alabama's President Stuart Bell said in a statement that the classification demonstrates the school’s “increased emphasis on research and scholarship productivity and innovation that impacts economic and societal development.”
• You can read more about the status HERE.

• Ken Watson was a man from southern Wales who never had his own grandchildren, but become close to his neighbors daughter, Cadi Williams.
• So much so that after he died at the age of 80, Watson made sure Cadi got a Christmas present from him for the next 14 years.
• “He always told us he’d live till he was 100 years old,” Mr. Williams wrote on Twitter, “so these gifts would have taken him up to our little girl’s 16th Christmas.”
• You can read more about this cute story HERE.

• The American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued a statement advising parents of young children to look for high-quality “traditional” toys rather than elaborate digital ones.
• Their reasoning: Physical toys give children scope for imagination and invention, and also encourage play that brings families together.
• If you’ve seen a toddler playing with pots and pans or a big cardboard box, you get the idea.
• You can read more about it HERE.

• You should check out these adorable photos of the Montgomery Fire Department handing out bikes and presents to families in need.
• And in the spirit of Christmas, you should also check out any local community charities you can give to so that other children in need can have a Merry Christmas as well.