1 Trump Visits Troops In Iraq
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made a surprise visit to U.S. troops serving in Iraq. The secret flight to Baghdad took place overnight. Trump spent about three hours with the servicemen and women at Asad Air Base, posing for selfies and more traditional photos. Trump and the first lady left late Christmas night on Air Force One and landed under the cover of darkness yesterday at Al Asad Air Base, west of Baghdad, where he met with soldiers in a dining hall and addressed a large group of troops in a hangar. The trip follows the President's order to withdraw troops from Syria last week. He also ordered the Pentagon to withdraw 7,000 soldiers from Afghanistan, which will cut in half the number of American forces still engaged in that country's war. “The United States cannot continue to be the policeman of the world,” Trump told the troops. "We don’t want to be taken advantage of anymore by countries that use us and use our incredible military to protect them."
2 Trump: Shutdown Will Continue
he government will remain partially closed as budget negotiations are going nowhere. All sides now anticipate the impasse will continue at least into the first week of January. During his trip to visit the troops in Iraq, President Trump told reporters that his position has not changed and that the shutdown would go on for "whatever it takes" for him to get wall funding. "We need a wall," Trump said. "So when you say how long is it going to take? When are they going to say that we need border security?" The Senate returns to Washington today but nobody is expecting there to be any sort of agreement reached any time soon. Its possible parts of the government could remain closed until the new Congress is seated in the first week of January when Democrats will take control of the House.
3 Dow Jumps 1000 In Volatile Trading On Wall Street
Stocks posted their best day in nearly a decade yesterday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its largest one-day point gain in history. Leading the way were retail and energy shares. Wall Street had seen big losses in the previous trading session. The Dow closed 1,086.25 points higher, or 4.98 percent, at 22,878.45. Yesterday's gain also marked the biggest upside move on a percentage basis since March 23, 2009, when it rose 5.8 percentage points.