{"id":195110,"date":"2025-12-30T18:44:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T18:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/what-congress-accomplished-in-2025-and-trumps-new-warnings-for-hamas-and-iran-morning-rundown-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T18:44:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T18:44:29","slug":"what-congress-accomplished-in-2025-and-trumps-new-warnings-for-hamas-and-iran-morning-rundown-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/what-congress-accomplished-in-2025-and-trumps-new-warnings-for-hamas-and-iran-morning-rundown-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"What Congress accomplished in 2025 and Trump&#039;s new warnings for Hamas and Iran: Morning Rundown &#8211; NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> news Alerts<br \/>There are no new alerts at this time<br \/><em><strong>In today\u2019s newsletter: <\/strong><\/em><em>Despite a lengthy government shutdown, Congress took major action in 2025 that will impact just about every American. Musicians cancel Kennedy Center shows after name change. And, meet the people putting their lives on the line to care for Gaza&#8217;s desperate animals.<\/em><br \/><em>Here&#8217;s what to know today.<\/em><br \/>Despite the record 43-day government shutdown, the Republican-led Congress had a busy first year of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term. The actions taken on Capitol Hill will impact just about every American.<br \/><em><strong>This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your day. Sign up <\/strong><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/link.nbcnews.com\/join\/5cj\/morning-rundown-signup\" target=\"_blank\"><em><strong>here<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em><strong> to get it in your inbox.<\/strong><\/em><br \/>Here are four big things Congress did in 2025:<br \/>\u2192 <strong>Made Trump tax cuts permanent:<\/strong> Republican leaders extended the Trump tax cuts from 2017, which were slated to expire at the end of this year. The \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d \u2014 as Trump dubbed it \u2014 passed both chambers with only Republican votes and was signed into law on July 4. In total, the law is projected to slash taxes by $4.5 trillion over the next decade.<br \/>\u2192 <strong>Boosted <\/strong><strong>Pentagon and mass deportation spending: <\/strong>Alongside the tax cuts, the same bill allocates significant new funding, including $150 billion for the Pentagon and $170 billion for immigration enforcement to expand ICE staffing, raids, and deportations.<br \/>\u2192 <strong>Slashed regulations:<\/strong> Republican leaders aggressively used a 1996 law known as the Congressional Review Act to fast-track repeal of a record number of federal regulations imposed under the Biden administration that applied to consumer protection, education, energy and cybersecurity.<br \/>\u2192 <strong>Weakened minority power<\/strong>: In September, Senate Republicans used the \u201cnuclear option\u201d to change the body\u2019s rules to now allow for one vote to confirm an unlimited number of presidential nominations for executive branch positions, rather than debating each one individually.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/four-big-things-congress-2025-rcna249338\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Read more about the year in Congress.<\/strong><\/a><br \/>President Donald Trump issued new warnings for Iran and Hamas after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida yesterday, aimed at advancing the ceasefire deal he brokered in Gaza.<br \/>Trump said Hamas would have \u201chell to pay\u201d if it didn\u2019t disarm to advance the U.S.-brokered peace plan, as he seeks to move into its second phase. He said Hamas, which didn\u2019t agree to the demilitarization of Gaza that Trump laid out as a key point in his peace plan, will be given a \u201cvery short period of time\u201d to disarm.<br \/>The president also suggested Iran was trying to rebuild nuclear sites after the U.S. struck three of them earlier this year and threatened \u201cvery powerful\u201d consequences if it is confirmed. <br \/>Iran swiftly responded to the threat. An adviser to Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, said that \u201cany aggression will receive a strong, immediate response that goes beyond what the attacker expects,\u201d the state-run Nour News agency reported.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/middle-east\/trump-netanyahu-meet-florida-talks-iran-gaza-ceasefire-hamas-rcna251314?cid=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025&#038;tpcc=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025\" target=\"_self\"><strong>Read the full story<\/strong><\/a><strong>. <\/strong><br \/>More musicians have canceled upcoming concerts at the Kennedy Center after its board voted to rename the performing arts venue to include President Trump&#8217;s name.<br \/>The canceled performances to date include shows previously promoted for Christmas Eve, New Year\u2019s Eve and Jan. 14. <br \/>The Cookers, a jazz band that was scheduled to perform Wednesday night did not cite a specific reason for their cancellation, but said in a statement: \u201cJazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice. Some of us have been making this music for many decades, and that history still shapes us.\u201d<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/trump-administration\/musicians-cancel-kennedy-center-concerts-trump-name-added-building-rcna251450?cid=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025&#038;tpcc=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025\"><strong>Read the full story.<\/strong><\/a><br \/>We hope you\u2019ve enjoyed our weekly news quiz this year. It\u2019s time to reward yourself with our year-in-review quiz.<br \/>Remember when 10 inmates brazenly escaped a Louisiana jail? How long did it take for authorities to re-capture all of them? <br \/>A. 8 daysB. 4 weeksC. 8 weeksD. 4 months<br \/>Find out the answer and test your knowledge of some of the year\u2019s biggest stories. (The answer to the question is also at the bottom of this newsletter.)<br \/>Since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel and its military response in Gaza, NBC News has been covering the death and destruction that has defined the ensuing war. Through my work scouring videos on social media to support our reporting on the war, I discovered the Sulala Animal Rescue account on Instagram.<br \/>Despite enduring famine, repeated strikes from Israeli forces and the loss of loved ones, the animal rescue group has saved dogs, cats, donkeys and other animals living in the Gaza Strip. NBC News filmed the staff\u2019s day-to day operations and heard their stories of hope through animals and of loss and pain through the death of a veterinarian vital to the group\u2019s operations.<br \/>This story is a reminder of how, despite the dangers of war, some people see the need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/gaza\/gazas-animal-shelter-workers-share-food-hungry-dogs-cats-rcna251111?cid=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025&#038;tpcc=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>put their lives at risk to help the most vulnerable<\/strong><\/a>, in this case, the four-legged creatures who so often desperately need the help.<br \/>\u2014 <strong>Tavleen Tarrant, <\/strong>associate reporter, social newsgathering<br \/>If your New Year plans include moving more, our editors rounded up the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/select\/shopping\/best-dumbbells-rcna251039?cid=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025&#038;tpcc=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025\" target=\"_self\"><strong>best dumbbells<\/strong><\/a> for home workouts and tested <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/select\/shopping\/best-smartwatches-rcna248847?cid=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025&#038;tpcc=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025\" target=\"_self\"><strong>smartwatches<\/strong><\/a> that actually help you stay on track. We also reviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/select\/shopping\/best-hoka-walking-shoes-review-rcna172789?cid=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025&#038;tpcc=eml_npd_nws_mrd_12302025\" target=\"_self\"><strong>Hoka walking shoes<\/strong><\/a> that make daily steps feel easier, whether you\u2019re easing back in or going all in.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/link.nbcnews.com\/join\/5cj\/nbc-news-select-signup-homepage\" target=\"_blank\"><em><strong>Sign up to The Selection<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em> newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.<\/em><br \/>\u200a<em>Thanks for reading today\u2019s Morning Rundown. Today\u2019s newsletter was curated for you by Richie Duchon. If you\u2019re a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign up <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/link.nbcnews.com\/join\/5cj\/morning-rundown-signup\" target=\"_blank\"><em><strong>here<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><br \/>Richie Duchon is an NBC News digital editor in the Los Angeles bureau.\u00a0<br \/>&copy;&nbsp;2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/rss\/articles\/CBMiugFBVV95cUxPTGRiRmplVjY0UmJ6UkJMXzY2YUNxajJLb0liRHBuQ0xQZ1o1WXdWVDVpM1dJR3lCNEtfT29MNWI1eHltWHQ2T1NrYWQ5cjJjNXVXU0lBQWgyMzk2b1NoaXlfZEJhNHZpNVF6dk5mQVZ5TnpNX0llX3BlTUozSjFIUktVNXJ2YzNweGhaWVIwYnAtalg5YllTd1lmM1hWZXFIcTF2aklqdlJscURFQVROcUJCTmFjejNydFHSAVZBVV95cUxNbkc5U3JJbmdrMHktSC1ETmpCb0k1QVh3MmZzdW12MEZnWUV4X01HQm9TMHh4M2QwdWUyZ1dQWEdGeXN3dklzU3ZZZUZXYmtaempzSV9GQQ?oc=5\">source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeIn today\u2019s newsletter: Despite a lengthy government shutdown, Congress took major action in 2025 that will impact just about every American. Musicians cancel Kennedy Center shows after name change. And, meet the people putting their lives on the line to care for Gaza&#8217;s desperate animals.Here&#8217;s what to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":195111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-195110","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}