Good morning! After two years of darkness due to war, the city of Bethlehem lit its Christmas tree in Manger Square over the weekend. If the name didn't quite give it away, that's believed to be the site of the OG manger where Jesus was born and has been home to a Christian church for 1,700 years.

SUPREME COURT

⚖️ Supreme Court agrees to take case challenging birthright citizenship

They’re on it, folks. The crack team of judicial masterminds at the Supreme Court agreed to take the case and decide the constitutionality of President Trump’s order challenging the way birthright citizenship is handed out in America.

Back in January, Trump issued an executive order telling his government to restrict who gets birthright citizenship — that is, citizenship given by virtue of birth. Historically, it’s been given to basically any baby born inside the United States. Trump wants that to change. But only slightly.

Birthright citizenship in the U.S. comes from the 14th Amendment, which passed in 1868, just after the Civil War. It says "all persons born” in America and “subject to the jurisdiction thereof" are American citizens from birth. Everyone knows what that first part means. But the second part is a little more controversial these days.

• Right now, the only babies not given birthright citizenship are the children of foreign diplomats.

• Every other baby gets citizenship, whether born to tourists or illegal migrants or exchange students or Canadians who took a wrong turn.

If Trump gets his way, birthright citizenship will only be awarded to babies with at least one parent who is either an American citizen or a lawful permanent resident. So immigrants are still included, but only those here legally and for the long haul.

His argument, that “subject to the jurisdiction” doesn’t include most foreigners, has some evidence in old quotes from the members of Congress who wrote the 14th Amendment. But the current, prevailing view has strong evidence, too.

• Things were a little dicey for a few decades after the 14th Amendment.

• Universal birthright citizenship, however, has been the law of the land since an 1898 Supreme Court case.

• The Trump administration says that case was different and only applied to the kids of legal, permanent immigrants.

Legal challenges to Trump’s order were filed the second he signed it back in January. Federal judges around the country tossed Trump’s order for being unconstitutional, and enforcement of it was put on hold. In September, the administration asked the Supreme Court to hear the case. On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to do so.

Future: Justices will probably hear arguments in the case next spring and drop a ruling in early summer.

Meanwhile, over in the legislative branch:

1. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R), one of four physicians in the Senate, is pushing a bill he says will ease rising health care costs by making it easier to fund your HSA.

2. At the same time, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) is racing to finalize a House health care plan, as pressure mounts before federal subsidies for Obamacare plans expire.

3. Back in the Senate, Republicans this week are planning one giant confirmation vote for a package of 97 Trump nominees for lower-level federal offices.

GOVERNMENT

🧾 The health insurance exchange is chock full of fraud. That's according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress's nonpartisan auditing agency. Over the past two years, the GAO set up 24 fake accounts on the Obamacare exchange. Two were caught. Twenty-two slipped through the cracks and raked in more than $10,000 per month in federal health insurance subsidies. Created in 2021, the subsidies make insurance bought on the exchange free for many people. For others, it's far cheaper than it otherwise would be. But those subsidies are set to expire at the end of the month, and Republicans say the GAO report is proof they shouldn't be extended. The GAO also found overused Social Security numbers, including one that showed up on more than 125 insurance plans.

👨‍⚖️ Since taking over in January, the Trump administration has fired ~100 of ~700 immigration judges who were on the bench last year. That's on top of the dozens who have retired or quit. Normal judicial branch judges can't be fired. But immigration judges are at-will employees who work for the Department of Justice (DOJ). They can be fired, and their rulings can be overturned by the attorney general (head of the DOJ). A DOJ spokesperson said they hope the house cleaning will fix Biden's mess, after he forced these courts to implement mass "amnesty." The DOJ is working to hire permanent replacements who will "ensure that only aliens with legally meritorious claims" can stay in the country. In the meantime, they're using military lawyers to fill the gaps.

💉 At the CDC's Atlanta HQ, the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8-3 to end its blanket advice that all infants get a hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Now, the shot is only recommended for babies whose moms already have (or may have) the disease. The CDC's director will still need to approve the change, which isn't expected to affect insurance coverage. Meanwhile, President Trump wants the CDC's overseer, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to revise the rest of the childhood vaccine schedule to better align with other developed countries, like Denmark, which require fewer shots. Opponents say those countries offer better access to health care, so vaccines are less vital.

MILITARY

🪖 Trump administration unveils new national security strategy

The White House just dropped a new, 33-page document outlining a new "National Security Strategy." Let’s take a peek.

The strategy places a heavy focus on the Western Hemisphere and questions the old policy of “permanent American domination of the entire world.” Instead, the Trump policy is to only concern ourselves with the rest of the world when it “directly threatens our interests.” The days of the Middle East dominating American foreign policy, it says, “are thankfully over.”

• It emphasizes border security as “the primary element of national security” and calls a secure border “fundamental to the survival” of the U.S.

• Cross-border threats like "terrorism, drugs, espionage, and human trafficking" loom large in the plan.

• The plan wants a reinvigorated Coast Guard and Navy to help protect our backyard and make the United States "preeminent in the Western Hemisphere."

It doesn’t focus exclusively on our hemisphere. It goes into detail explaining how Europe can reclaim its former glory, and promotes moving from an “aid-focused” relationship with Africa to one primarily focused on trade.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth mirrored this with a speech on Saturday that dumped on the idea of "idealistic utopianism." That's gotta go. In its place, he said, will be "hard-nosed realism." Hegseth argued the U.S. must "put our nation's practical, concrete interests" above old policies of "interventionism, undefined wars," and "nation-building."

Over in Congress, our distinguished politicians are racing to pass the annual NDAA. That's the National Defense Authorization Act, otherwise known as the Pentagon’s 2026 budget.

Meanwhile, over in immigration land:

1. Minneapolis police officers have been ordered to intervene if they see ICE agents using "unlawful force." Anyone who doesn't will be fired. They will not, however, attempt to arrest any federal agents.

2. Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) claims she was pepper-sprayed by ICE while protesting at an ICE raid in Arizona. Federal officials denied that, but added that even members of Congress aren't allowed "to obstruct law enforcement."

3. Following the November 26 shooting of two Guard troops in D.C. by an Afghan national, counterterrorism officials want the White House to deport 2 million people who entered the U.S. under Biden, but allegedly "weren't vetted at all."

TRIVIA

President Trump has made it no secret that he really, seriously, super-duper wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Depending on how his efforts to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza play out over the next few years, maybe he'll get his wish. Until then, he'll have to make do with the FIFA Peace Prize.

If that doesn't sound familiar, well, that's because it isn't. President Trump became the first recipient of the new prize on Friday. FIFA gave him the award in Washington, D.C., during the draw for the 2026 World Cup, set to be jointly hosted by the United States, America's Hat, and Old Mexico. Today’s question: In what year was the Nobel Peace Prize first awarded?

Hint: The first prize was awarded about three months after Teddy Roosevelt became president.

BRIEFS

● Republicans just notched a big legal win. The Supreme Court gave the okay for Texas to use its newly drawn pro-Republican congressional map in next year's midterm elections. Pressure is on this week as Indiana Republicans consider their own new map.

● The Trump administration’s antitrust regulators are reportedly looking at Netflix’s $72 billion bid to buy Warner Bros. and its streamer, HBO Max, with “heavy skepticism.” Rival bidder Paramount is still pushing, hoping to benefit from friendliness with Trump.

● After five years of hunting, the FBI on Thursday arrested a suspect believed to have planted the pipe bombs outside both RNC and DNC headquarters on January 5, 2021. Brian Cole Jr. told investigators that he believed the 2020 election had been stolen.

● Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau slammed the European Union's green energy agenda, arguing "climate fanaticism" undermines NATO's security by hurting Europe's ability to uphold its half of the defensive agreement.

● Israel and Hamas are about to "move into the second phase of the ceasefire," upon Hamas returning the remains of the final hostage. Elsewhere, Russia again launched major strikes in Ukraine over the weekend as U.S.-Ukraine talks ended after three days.

QUOTE

ANSWER

Along with the other Nobel Prizes, the Nobel Peace Prize was first awarded in 1901, five years after the death of Alfred Nobel. The Peace Prize is the only one awarded in Norway (you get the others in Sweden), and, due to its political nature, is usually the most controversial of the bunch.

Twenty-one Americans have won the Nobel Peace Prize, as have two American organizations. That list includes four presidents, four secretaries of state, two vice presidents, one president of Columbia University, one head of the YMCA, and a guy who nailed life so hard that his birthday is now a federal holiday.