By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, Alison Main, Aileen Graef, Ted Barrett, CNN

(CNN) — Congressional Republicans have sent lawmakers home for the holidays without voting to address the Obamacare subsidies cliff that will hit millions of Americans on New Year’s Day — infuriating some of their own rank and file.

“Here we are without a deal enacted, with the subsidies about to expire. I think it’s totally unacceptable. It’s a failure of leadership, honestly, on both sides,” GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley of California said of the enhanced premium subsidies, moments after the House’s final votes Thursday afternoon.

Kiley is among dozens of GOP centrists in the House and Senate who have begged for weeks for their leaders to allow a bipartisan compromise to avert massive financial hardship for people across the country. Starting January 1, as many as 22 million people will see skyrocketing monthly premiums and some will be forced to forgo coverage altogether.

These members have insisted that a GOP-Congress can’t simply let the Covid-era subsidies expire without helping to blunt the impact in some way. But plenty more Republicans argue that it is a Democratic health care program that has failed – and should not be bailed out with more taxpayer dollars.

Internally, Republicans have been consumed by that battle for weeks, ending in no solution ahead of the deadline.

Some House centrists have been particularly vocal — even agreeing to buck Johnson by signing onto a Democratic effort to force a vote on extending the subsidies.

That dramatic move to defy GOP leadership has now set up a showdown when Congress returns from the holidays. By then, the issue may be even more contentious as millions of Americans feel the pain of higher premiums.

That vote is expected to take place the first week of January. Across the Capitol, a group of Senate centrists have been quietly strategizing about how to use that House-passed bill to pass their own compromise measure early next year.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a fierce critic of the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire in two weeks, did not rule out that option, saying that “there could be a path forward” in the new year to extend them if Democrats are “willing to accept reforms” to that program and embrace other GOP health care policies they have been demanding for years.

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican who has called for the subsidies to be extended, said that House bill “could be an opportunity to work on something.”

“I won’t pass the Senate as it is, but it could be a vehicle that you get on to do something,” Hawley said.

Pressed again about his decision on Thursday, Johnson defended the move even as he faces enormous pressure from within the ranks of his conference.

Asked by CNN if he was concerned about the potential of swing-district Republicans losing their seats in the midterms, Johnson said “absolutely not.”

Johnson also defended his decision not to delay recess and vote on the extension of the enhanced ACA subsidies rather than dealing with the issue when they return in January.

“The only way to do that is to go through the rules process and fast forward it. Everybody knows those rules. Everybody knew it all along, and they made the decisions that they made,” he said, rolling his eyes when asked about canceling recess.

The House departed Washington a day earlier than expected, after Republicans successfully passed a narrow health care proposal — which involves reducing costs over coming years but does not address the subsidies cliff — as well as a major energy permitting bill.

“They’re playing a political game,” Johnson added, speaking

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Holiday shopping at Paseo Nuevo is taking on new meaning this season, as the downtown Santa Barbara mall partners with Make-A-Wish Central Coast and Southern Central Valley as its featured nonprofit for the 2025 holidays.

The collaboration grew out of a powerful moment earlier this year, when Paseo Nuevo hosted a shopping spree wish for a local child whose dream was to be “the best dressed at school.”

That experience sparked a deeper partnership centered on creating joy and lasting memories for children facing critical illnesses.

“People can come in, write letters to Santa Claus, make donations, write letters to children at Make-A-Wish, and just be supportive for them going forward,” said Jesse Flitt, Paseo Nuevo’s general manager.

Shoppers can take part by visiting Paseo Nuevo’s Peppermint Parlor, open on weekends through December 24, where guests can support future wishes—making this weekend the final opportunity to join in the holiday giving.

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Análisis de Aaron Blake, CNN

Las entrevistas publicadas recientemente a Susie Wiles en Vanity Fair son notables por múltiples razones. Pero quizá lo más relevante sea lo que la secretaria general de la Casa Blanca dijo sobre Venezuela.

Al fin y al cabo, se trata de matar personas en alta mar y de la posibilidad de ir a la guerra con otro país. Y Wiles sugirió que el Gobierno ha ocultado sus verdaderas motivaciones.

“Quiere seguir volando embarcaciones hasta que [Nicolás] Maduro se rinda”, dijo Wiles al referirse a Trump.

Eso no es lo que el Gobierno ha dicho públicamente sobre sus ataques contra supuestas embarcaciones vinculadas al narcotráfico. Ha dicho que esos ataques tienen como objetivo impedir que las drogas lleguen a Estados Unidos, no ejercer presión sobre Maduro. Y ha eludido en gran medida el concepto de cambio de régimen en Venezuela, incluso cuando el presidente Donald Trump ha dicho que los días del presidente “están contados”.

Sin embargo, aquí estaba Wiles, ya a principios de noviembre, diciendo que todo estaba relacionado y que en realidad se trataba de someter a Maduro.

Los cambios en las justificaciones del Gobierno no son un asunto menor. No hay que remontarse muy atrás para ver lo desastroso que puede ser llevar a Estados Unidos a la guerra con falsos pretextos.

De hecho, los dichos de Wiles no fueron los únicos cambio que surgieron en los comentarios de la administración esta semana.

Repasemos los ejemplos clave de esta retórica cambiante.

El Gobierno ha insistido en que los ataques contra embarcaciones, que muchos expertos consideran ilegales, tienen como objetivo proteger a los estadounidenses del flagelo de las drogas. Ha calificado a sus objetivos como “narco-terroristas” y los ha considerado merecedores de ejecuciones sumarias sin debido proceso.

“Que esto sirva de aviso a cualquiera que esté pensando en introducir drogas en Estados Unidos de América”, dijo Trump cuando publicó el vídeo de los primeros ataques a principios de septiembre. “¡CUIDADO!”.

Una semana después, Fox News preguntó al secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth, cuál era la misión.

“El interés nacional fundamental, la seguridad del pueblo estadounidense, detener los asesinatos, detener el envenenamiento del pueblo estadounidense”, dijo Hegseth. “Es así de simple”.

La secretaria de Prensa de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, dijo que se trataba de drogas y de “asegurar nuestras fronteras marítimas”.

El comentario de Wiles a Vanity Fair le dio un giro muy diferente a esto.

“Quiere seguir volando embarcaciones hasta que Maduro se rinda”, dijo Wiles. “Y personas mucho más inteligentes que yo dicen que lo hará”.

Si vas a matar de forma rápida y directa a personas, es mejor que sepas mucho sobre ellas.

Pero cuando se trata del ataque del que más sabemos, el primero, el Gobierno ha tenido dificultades para dar una versión consistente.

Pero al día siguiente, Trump dijo que se dirigía a Estados Unidos, mientras que Rubio modificó su comentario para decir que “se dirigía, eventualmente, hacia Estados Unidos”.

Avancemos rápidamente hasta este mes. Tras conocerse la noticia de que este primer ataque dejó sobrevivientes que posteriormente fueron asesinados, un posible crimen de guerra, el Gobierno se vio obligado a dar explicaciones. CNN informó que el funcionario militar que supervisó la misión, el al

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Casa Pacifica is calling on the community to step up and help vulnerable children and families this holiday season.

Through its Adopt-A-Family program, donors are matched with families in need and provided a wish list that includes gifts, household essentials, and items that bring comfort during a difficult time.

Organizers say the need is especially high this year, with more families facing financial and emotional challenges.

Community support helps ensure each child receives not only presents, but a reminder that they are cared for and not forgotten.

Casa Pacifica encourages anyone able to give—individuals, businesses, and organizations—to participate, donate gift cards, or contribute online.

Program leaders hope more “holiday heroes” will join in to brighten the season for local families.

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By Taylor Romine, Emma Tucker, John Miller, Holmes Lybrand, Tori B. Powell and CNN staff

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (CNN) — The suspect in the Brown University shooting has been found dead after taking his own life, authorities said Thursday night.

The deceased suspect was identified as Claudio Valente, a 48-year-old former Brown University student and Portuguese national, Providence Police Chief Oscar L. Perez, Jr. said during a news conference. Valente was found dead in a storage facility with a satchel, two firearms, and evidence matching the scene of the crime.

The investigation relied on “threads” of information to get officials answers on the shooter’s whereabouts, according to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.

A person who came to local police officers with information, Neronha said, “blew this case right open.”

“That person led us to the car, which led us to the name, which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence that matched the satchel that we see here in Providence,” Neronha said.

Earlier, police swarmed the Salem, New Hampshire, area where they found an abandoned car with a license plate believed to be connected to the suspect.

Authorities are also looking into potential ties between the Brown shooting and this week’s killing of an MIT professor at his Massachusetts home, according to a law enforcement official close to the case, though the official stressed there’s not yet definitive evidence of a connection. When authorities involved in the manhunt for Valente saw a call-out from police investigating the killing of an MIT professor, they realized a vehicle of interest in that case was just like one they were looking for.

It was the same kind of car used by suspects in both cases, but the license plates were different, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the case. A witness had provided a license plate to authorities probing the Brown University shooting who then investigated the car and its past drivers, which allowed them to identify the same vehicle of interest in the MIT professor killing.

The shooting on Saturday left two students dead and nine injured at the Ivy League school. At least 75 school shootings have unfolded this year in the US.

The “unthinkable” happened to the Brown University community in Providence and recovering from the devastating mass shooting will take “a great deal of time,” said Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee.

“We’re going to be forever changed but our commitment on the state level is to continue to support Providence, Brown and the people in the state of Rhode Island in recovery,” said McKee at the news conference.

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