(CNN) Time Magazine has named its 2019 Person of the Year and it's ... drumroll, please ...16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
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The highly anticipated and deeply important UK general election is underway today. Brits must choose between drastically different paths to the Brexit finish line. The "B" word isn't the only issue on the table: Party leaders also laid out plans to tackle health care, climate change and tax reform. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for early elections in hopes his party could win a Parliamentary majority and push his Brexit deal through. Even after elections are over, there's no guaranteed clear path forward. The day could end in a hung Parliament with no majority, which would send parties scrambling to put together coalitions to form a government. And, if Johnson gets his way and a Conservative-led Parliament votes for his Brexit deal, he'd still face thorny trade negotiations with the EU and the US. Follow the latest news here.
Here's something new: Word among some GOP senators is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may seek a vote to acquit President Trump if the House impeaches him, rather than vote to dismiss the articles of impeachment altogether. This would end the trial as soon as possible -- something McConnell wants so the party can move on from the whole impeachment thing and avoid possible partisan warfare. However, a fiery trial is reportedly what President Trump prefers. There's even a chance the whistleblower whose account kicked off the impeachment inquiry could be called to testify at a Senate trial, likely revealing his or her carefully guarded identity. Before any of that has a chance of happening, the House needs to complete its marathon two-day debate over the articles. That should wrap up today with the House Judiciary committee approving the articles in preparation for a full House vote next week.
Speaking of elections, majorities and missed deadlines, Israel is officially heading for its third national election in a year. Members of the Knesset, the country's legislative body, failed to agree on a majority leader by yesterday's deadline. This means Benjamin Netanyahu is still Prime Minister, even though he's hanging on to power by a thread. New elections in March could spell more trouble for Netanyahu, who's currently facing indictment in three separate corruption cases. In fact, there's a chance he doesn't even make it that far. His Likud party is about to hold a leadership contest, tentatively set for December 26, during which a new party leader could be chosen. If he makes it through that vote, he'll face longtime political foe Benny Gantz, whose Blue and White party came out on top in the last election but still failed to form a government.
A bipartisan bill that just passed the House would grant legal status to thousands of undocumented farm workers in the US. Similar measures have failed in the past, and this one still faces challenges in the Senate, but this bill has significant Republican support. If it becomes law, it would also require companies to verify workers are in the US legally using a federal system. The whole package would bring sweeping changes to an industry that has long relied on the work of undocumented immigrants. Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced ICE arrests dropped about 10% in the 2019 fiscal year. The agency said the drop was due to limited resources. Since so many ICE agents were busy attending to the influx of migrants at the southern US border, they said, there were fewer agents free to apprehend undocumented immigrants already in the country.
You won't be flying on a Boeing 737 Max anytime soon. Federal Aviation Administration chief Stephen Dickson said yesterday a House Transportation Committee hearing he couldn't give a time frame for when the controversial model would be back in the air. The planes were grounded worldwide back in March after two crashes killed a combined 346 people. The hearing also revealed that Boeing and the FAA ignored clear signs that the 737 Max planes were dangerous. A government report filed after the first crash, made public during the yesterday's hearing, concluded the jets were at a significant risk for future crashes. Dickson said if he were head of the FAA at the time of the report, he would have grounded the planes immediately. However, it took months -- and another deadly crash -- before any action was taken.
The SAG Awards nominations are out
You know awards season is here when you can't keep up with which nominations are which.
Popeyes has debuted a chicken-themed ugly Christmas sweater
That would make quite a while elephant gift.
IHOP is opening a fast casual restaurant called 'Flip'd'
For when you absolutely need pancakes but can't stick around to eat them in a booth.
Here's how to say all the words you mispronounced in 2019
It's "Buttigieg," not "Buttigieg," OK?
"It would shame my daughter that someone has to die for her."
Earlene Peterson, whose daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law were tortured and killed by Daniel Lewis Lee and an accomplice in 1996. Lee, a onetime white supremacist, is scheduled to become the first person to die by federal execution in nearly 17 years. Peterson and other relatives of the victims are asking the government to spare his life.
1,290
The number of square feet of skin New Zealand medical professionals have ordered to treat patients severely injured by gas and ash in Monday's volcanic eruption on White Island
So fresh and minty!
Admit it, you're dying to see how candy canes are made. Maybe you had never considered it before this moment, but now you just NEED to know. (Click here to view.)