Growing number of House Republicans sign on to effort to force vote on ACA subsidies — defying Speaker Johnson

Growing number of House Republicans sign on to effort to force vote on ACA subsidies — defying Speaker Johnson
Growing number of House Republicans sign on to effort to force vote on ACA subsidies — defying Speaker Johnson
 U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks at a Hanukkah reception at the U.S. Capitol Building on December 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. T. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — As House Speaker Mike Johnson eyes a vote next week on a to-be-announced health care package, a growing number of House Republicans are revolting against leadership by trying to force a vote on extending the expiring Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies.

Nearly a dozen Republicans — many from swing districts — have signed onto dueling bipartisan discharge petitions to extend and reform the subsidies in the hopes of bypassing leadership and triggering a vote on the House floor. 

This move comes as the subsidies are set to expire at the end of the month, which will prompt health premiums for more than 20 million Americans to soar. 

While Johnson has not yet unveiled the specifics of his plan, an extension of the ACA subsidies is currently not expected to be included in the package. Johnson said the bill will “probably” be unveiled over the weekend ahead of next week’s anticipated vote. 

The speaker and GOP leaders, during a closed door meeting this week, provided Republicans a list of several options to address health care costs, according to multiple sources. Some of those options, sources said, include Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), cost-sharing reductions and making changes to pharmacy benefit managers. 

Lawmakers told ABC News they left that meeting with no clear consensus on how to address health care.

“You’re going to see a package come together that will be on the floor next week that will actually reduce premiums for 100% of Americans who are on health insurance,” Johnson said at his weekly news conference. “The overall system is broken, and we’re the ones that are going to fix it.” 

A group of mainly moderate Republicans, though, want to see the subsidies addressed by Congress before the expiration date. 

The discharge petitions would need 218 signatures for a vote to occur in the House, and it’s unclear if enough Democrats will provide their support to reach that threshold.

Most House Democrats have signed onto another petition led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to extend the subsidies for three years. 

Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania filed a discharge petition that would extend the subsidies for two years, establish income caps for enrollees and regulate pharmacy benefit managers.

New Jersey Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer filed a separate but similar bipartisan discharge petition to extend the subsidies with reforms. 

As of Thursday, 11 Republicans had signed on to both discharge petitions.

Johnson threw cold water on the efforts by vulnerable Republicans hoping to hold a vote on the subsidies. 

“We’re working on a package of legislation that will reduce premiums for all Americans, not just 7% of them,” he said. 

Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who supports both discharge petitions, warned about the impacts not extending the subsidies will have on the midterm election for Republicans.  

“I think it will be used like a sledgehammer a year from now. The reality will be bad,” he said. 

Bacon said if Congress fails to act, “all our constituents are going to be paying a lot more for their premiums and that’s unacceptable.” 

In the Senate, meanwhile, two competing health care proposals aimed at addressing the expected premium spikes — one championed by Democrats and the other by Republicans — failed to advance on Thursday, leaving the Senate back at square one.

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New York tourist stabbed while changing baby’s diaper in Macy’s restroom, suspect charged: Police

New York tourist stabbed while changing baby’s diaper in Macy’s restroom, suspect charged: Police
New York tourist stabbed while changing baby’s diaper in Macy’s restroom, suspect charged: Police
Shoppers wait in line outside of Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square before opening on Black Friday in New York, US, on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. Americans are planning to spend more this holiday season than last year, according to credit reporting firm TransUnion. (Photographer: Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — A woman was arrested Thursday afternoon for allegedly stabbing a tourist inside the Macy’s flagship store in New York City, according to police.

Kerri Aherne, 43, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, allegedly stabbed the tourist multiple times as she was changing her infant daughter’s diaper in a seventh floor restroom at Macy’s Herald Square location, the New York Police Department said.

The baby was uninjured, and the victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, according to police.

Aherne allegedly stabbed the tourist, who was visiting Manhattan from California, in her back and arm from behind just before 3 p.m. before her husband disarmed the suspect and held her until police arrived.

The victim and her husband work for the sheriff’s office in Jurupa Valley.

Aherne was charged with two counts of assault, attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child, and she is expected to appear in court later Friday.

A Macy’s spokesperson told WABC that “we are deeply saddened about the incident that took place today as the safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority. We kindly defer any further questions to the local authorities.”

Police said the attack appears to be unprovoked and is currently under investigation.

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Watch Evanescence’s ‘Afterlife’ performance on 2025 Game Awards

Watch Evanescence’s ‘Afterlife’ performance on 2025 Game Awards
Watch Evanescence’s ‘Afterlife’ performance on 2025 Game Awards
Amy Lee of Evanescence performs onstage during The Game Awards 2025 at the Peacock Theater on December 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Frank Micelotta/The Game Awards via Getty Images)

Evanescence played their song “Afterlife” during the 2025 Game Awards, which took place Thursday.

“Afterlife,” which was released in March, was recorded for Netflix’s animated adaptation of the Devil May Cry video game series. Along with Amy Lee and company’s performance, it was announced that the second season of Devil May Cry will premiere on May 12.

You can watch Evanescence’s Game Awards set streaming now on YouTube.

“Afterlife” is one of two new songs Evanescence released in 2025, along with the K.Flay collaboration “Fight Like a Girl.” The band’s most recent album is 2021’s The Bitter Truth.

Evanescence will launch a 2026 U.S. tour in June with support from Spiritbox and Nova Twins.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Lenny Kravitz to appear in Bond video game 007 First Light

Lenny Kravitz to appear in Bond video game 007 First Light
Lenny Kravitz to appear in Bond video game 007 First Light
Lenny Kravitz on Jimmy Kimmel Live!/(ABC/Randy Holmes)

Lenny Kravitz is set to appear in the upcoming James Bond action adventure video game 007 First Light, from IO Interactive.

Kravitz will play the villain Bawma in the game, which will be a Bond origin story. Bawma is described as “the largest black-market dealer in the Western Hemisphere who’s as charismatic as he is unpredictable,” with the description adding, “He rose from nothing, broke free, and built his own Kingdom of Aleph.”

“The Bond franchise has such an incredible legacy in video games, so to step into it with a brand-new character like Bawma is amazing,” Kravitz said in a statement posted to IO Interactive’s website. “He’s magnetic and unpredictable, there’s danger in him, but also heart and purpose. He’s not just a man with power; he is a man who has to fight for every inch of it. Bringing that energy into 007’s world felt incredible.”

A just released trailer for the game highlights Kravitz’s appearance, with the villain’s likeness taken directly from the rocker’s iconic look.

007 First Light is due out March 27 and available for preorder now.

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Federal judge blocks government from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia after release

Federal judge blocks government from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia after release
Federal judge blocks government from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia after release
Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrives for his first check-in at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Office the day after a federal judge ordered his release from a detention in Pennsylvania, December 12, 2025 in Baltimore. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia will not be detained by immigration authorities, according to his attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, after a federal judge blocked the government from re-detaining him right before he was scheduled to appear before immigration authorities in Baltimore.

“Shortly after midnight, we filed an application for temporary restraining order with Judge Xinis, and at 7:30am she granted the temporary restraining order prohibiting Kilmar Abrego Garcia from being re arrested at this check in today. As a result of that, I’m pleased to announce that Mr. Abrego Garcia will be walking back out those doors again later this morning,” said Sandoval-Moshenberg.

Xinis granted an emergency temporary restraining order request from Abrego Garcia’s attorneys because an immigration judge appeared to add a removal order to Abrego Garcia’s immigration record.

When Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia released Thursday she said that the government could not hold him in immigration detention because he was never issued a removal order.

But that night, an immigration judge issued a rare decision saying that he had “corrected” an error in Abrego Garcia’s record and appeared to add a removal order.

Immigration judge Philip Taylor said in his order that Abrego Garcia’s order of removal was “was erroneously omitted” from a 2019 immigration hearing, according to documents obtained by ABC News.

“The order of removal to El Salvador, which should have preceded the order granting him withholding of removal to El Salvador, was erroneously omitted,” Taylor said.

In her order on Thursday, Xinis said that “since Abrego Garcia’s wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority.

“The circumstances of Abrego Garcia’s detention since he was released from criminal custody cannot be squared with the ‘basic purpose’ of holding him to effectuate removal,” Xinis said.

Xinis, citing reporting from ABC News and others, said the government at the same time could have removed Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica, his preferred country of removal.

“Respondents’ calculated effort to take Costa Rica ‘off the table’ backfired,” Xinis wrote. “Within 24 hours, Costa Rica, through Minister Zamora Cordero, communicated to multiple news sources that its offer to grant Abrego Garcia residence and refugee status is, and always has been, firm, unwavering, and unconditional.”

Xinis in August blocked the government from removing Abrego Garcia from the United States until the habeas case challenging his removal was resolved in court. The habeas petition was granted Thursday.

“The history of Abrego Garcia’s case is as well known as it is extraordinary,” Xinis wrote in her decision Thursday.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Brian Walshe murder trial: Closing arguments expected after defense calls no witnesses

Brian Walshe murder trial: Closing arguments expected after defense calls no witnesses
Brian Walshe murder trial: Closing arguments expected after defense calls no witnesses
Brian Walshe during the murder trial of Ana Walshe on December 9, 2025. (Photo by Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

(DEDHAM, Mass.) — Closing arguments are expected to be delivered Friday in the murder trial of Brian Walshe, a father of three accused of killing and dismembering his wife.

The Massachusetts man is accused of killing his wife, 39-year-old Ana Walshe, around New Year’s Day in 2023. He pleaded guilty last month, ahead of the trial, to lying to police following her disappearance and improperly disposing of her body, though he denies that he killed his wife and has pleaded not guilty to murder. Ana Walshe’s body has not been found.

The defense rested on Thursday without calling any witnesses. Judge Diane Freniere noted in court on Thursday that it appeared that Brian Walshe would testify in his defense, based on the defense’s opening statement. Though he ultimately waived his right.

During the trial’s opening statements last week, defense attorneys said that Brian Walshe found his wife dead in bed on New Year’s Day in 2023 and then panicked and lied to police as they investigated her disappearance — but maintained he did not kill her.

Prosecutors allege Brian Walshe killed and dismembered his wife, then disposed of her remains in dumpsters. The internet history on his devices on Jan. 1, 2023, included searches such as “best way to dispose of a body,” “how long for someone to be missing to inherit,” and “best way to dispose of body parts after a murder,” prosecutors said.

Evidence presented during the two-week trial included surveillance footage of a man believed to be Brian Walshe buying tools and other supplies at a Lowe’s on Jan. 1, 2023. A receipt showed that items, including a hacksaw, utility knife, hammer, snips, Tyvek suit, shoeguards, rags and cleaning supplies totaling $462 were purchased with cash.

Additional surveillance footage presented in court showed someone throwing out trash bags at dumpsters on multiple days in early January.

Several blood-stained items recovered from dumpsters by investigators — including a hacksaw, a piece of rug, a towel, hairs and an unknown tissue — were linked to Ana Walshe through DNA testing, a forensic scientist from the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory testified during the trial.

Blood was also found in the basement of the family’s rental home in Cohasset, another forensic scientist with the crime lab testified.

Ana Walshe was reported missing by her employer on Jan. 4, 2023. Brian Walshe told police at the time that she had a “work emergency” at her job in Washington, D.C. and left their Cohasset home on New Year’s Day, according to video of his interview shown in court.

At the time, Brian Walshe and their three children were living in Massachusetts while he was awaiting sentencing in a federal fraud case after pleading guilty to a scheme to sell counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings.

Ahead of the murder trial, Brian Walshe admitted to lying to police amid her disappearance and improperly disposing of her body. His defense said during opening statements that he panicked after finding her dead in bed, calling her death sudden and unexplained.

Jurors heard testimony, including from a D.C. man with whom Ana Walshe was having an affair, that the mother of three was upset about being away from her children so much, and that there was stress in the marriage. The defense maintained that the couple were happy.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem confronted about veteran in contentious hearing over deportations

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem confronted about veteran in contentious hearing over deportations
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem confronted about veteran in contentious hearing over deportations
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security in the Cannon House Office Building on Dec. 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

(WASHINGTON) — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem found herself in the hot seat on Capitol Hill on Thursday, defending herself from Democrats who sharply questioned the Trump administration’s hardline immigration actions.

In one notable exchange, Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., asked Noem if DHS had deported any military veterans — and she said the department has not. 

Magaziner then referred to a tablet with a man named Sae Joon Park on the screen, joining the hearing by Zoom.

Magaziner said Park is a Purple Heart recipient who was shot twice while serving with the U.S. Army in Panama in 1989, who was deported to Korea by the Trump administration.

“Like many veterans, he struggled with PTSD and substance abuse after his service,” Magaziner said. “He was arrested in the 1990s for some minor drug offenses, nothing serious. He never hurt anyone besides himself, and he’s been clean and sober for 14 years.”

When asked if she would thank Park for his service, Noem responded to the congressman, “Sir, I’m grateful for every single person that has served our country and follows our laws.”

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson later said Magaziner failed to mention that Park had a criminal history, although the congressman did address that in his remarks. 

“In 2010 an immigration judge issued him an order of removal. Park’s appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals that same month was dismissed by the Board in April 2011,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement. “With no legal basis to remain in the U.S. and a final order of removal, Park was allowed to self-deport to Korea.”

In response to a question from Magaziner, Noem committed to reviewing Park’s case.

Magaziner also introduced a military veteran named Jim Brown, from Troy, Missouri, who was sitting in the gallery behind Noem. Browns’s wife — a native of Ireland — has lived in the U.S. for 48 years before being detained and facing deportation, the congressman said. Her only criminal record was writing two bad checks totaling $80 several years ago, Magaziner said.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

In brief: Netflix shares ‘His & Hers’ trailer and more

In brief: Netflix shares ‘His & Hers’ trailer and more
In brief: Netflix shares ‘His & Hers’ trailer and more

Jim Ward, the voice actor known for his work on The Fairly OddParents, has died at age 66. His radio talk show co-host, Stephanie Miller, confirmed Ward’s death in a post on social media Wednesday. “He was beyond brilliance,” Miller wrote in her tribute. Ward voiced Doug Dimmadome on The Fairly OddParents and also lent his voice to various characters in the Cartoon Network show Ben 10

We now know when season 2 of Ted will arrive. The Seth MacFarlane series will debut all eight episodes of its sophomore season on March 5, 2026. “We hope you enjoy these eight somewhat filthy, hopefully funny heartfelt episodes about a young man, his talking teddy bear, and their highly dysfunctional family,” MacFarlane, Paul Corrigan and Brad Walsh said in a statement …

The official trailer for His & Hers is here. Netflix has released the trailer for the upcoming crime drama that stars Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal. The chilling new limited series premieres on Jan. 8, 2026 …

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Scoreboard roundup — 12/11/25

Scoreboard roundup — 12/11/25
Scoreboard roundup — 12/11/25

(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Falcons 29, Buccaneers 28

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Clippers 113, Rockets 115
Celtics 101, Bucks 116
Trail Blazers 120, Pelicans 143
Nuggets 136, Kings 105

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Sharks 3, Maple Leafs 2
Lightning 8, Devils 4
Ducks 2, Islanders 5
Golden Knights 3, Flyers 2
Hurricanes 3, Capitals 2
Senators 6, Blue Jackets 3
Canadians 4, Penguins 2
Blues 2, Predators 7
Stars 2, Wild 5
Bruins 6, Jets 3
Red Wings 1, Oilers 4
Panthers 2, Avalanche 6
Sabres 3, Canucks 2

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Parker McCollum’s son is on the cusp of really enjoying Christmas

Parker McCollum’s son is on the cusp of really enjoying Christmas
Parker McCollum’s son is on the cusp of really enjoying Christmas
Parker McCollum (Disney/Connie Chornuk)

Parker McCollum‘s son, Major Yancey Tyler McCollum, celebrated his first birthday in August, so he already has one yuletide season under his belt — although he was just a few months old at the time.

Parker and his wife, Hallie Ray McCollum, are especially excited about Christmas this year.

“My son’s like right on the cusp of being old enough to like really enjoy Christmas,” Parker says. “I think we may be a little bit early. That’s not gonna stop my wife from acting like he’s 10 and fully aware of what’s going on.”

“So I’ll be looking forward to just playing along and acting like she’s right,” he adds.

Of course, as Major grows up, Parker has his own rituals he’s ready to start.

“Probably the tradition I look forward most to showing my son one day is taking off to the ranch to go hunting as soon as Christmas Day’s over,” he says. 

Parker will get back to work fairly quickly, as he’s booked to play Dickies Arena in Ft. Worth on New Year’s Eve.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.