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Good morning,

Looking for the perfect gift for a special someone? Obviously there’s Mo News merch— or you can send someone a Cameo from expelled Rep. George Santos 😉.

For a few hundred dollars he will make you a personalized video. His bio reads: “Former congressional “Icon”!💅🏼 The Expelled member of Congress from New York City.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) commissioned a Santos video for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who’s facing federal charges for acting as a foreign agent to Egypt. Fetterman wants Menendez to resign. We are not sure this will help.

Have a good one!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

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🗞 FINAL DEBATE PREVIEW: LESS THAN SIX WEEKS TILL VOTING

Four GOP presidential candidates will take the stage for the fourth presidential debate— and like the previous debates, frontrunner Donald Trump is sitting it out, again. On stage: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

• Trump appeared on a Fox News town hall yesterday and is holding a private fundraiser tonight. Between 40-60% for Republicans currently say they will vote for him to be the GOP nominee according to polls from early voting states. NH IA SC

👀 Who to watch: Nikki Haley. New polling shows her beating President Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head race. She still trails Trump by a lot, and she’s been duking it out with Ron DeSantis for second.

STATE OF THE RACE
Seven GOP hopefuls have suspended their campaigns in recent weeks, the Iowa Republican caucuses take place Jan. 15, and the New Hampshire primary is set for Jan. 23. This could be the final debate before voting begins.

To get on tonight’s stage, candidates needed to meet polling and donor requirements, along with signing a pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee. Here’s where they stand:

• DeSantis recently said he expects to win the Iowa caucuses, and has pickup up some of Sen. Tim Scott’s endorsements in South Carolina. However, the super PAC that’s raised more than $130 million this election cycle to put him in the White House is in turmoil — with some donors backing away.

• Haley’s last debate performance helped give her a bump in public polls and support from major GOP donors, including the Koch network’s well-funded Americans for Prosperity and some of Wall Street’s biggest players. She still trails Trump by a large amount, including in her home state of South Carolina (which votes 3rd).

• Ramaswamy gained stature in conservative circles for his criticism of the environmental and socially responsible investing. He has largely self-funded his campaign so far, but is polling in single digits and hasn’t gained ground in months.

• Christie is polling the worst among the group. Several anti-Trump Republican donors are trying to pressure him to drop out and back Haley. Meanwhile, Christie is focused on winning New Hampshire to get the nomination.

WHAT ABOUT BIDEN?
A new poll shows Trump ahead of Biden 47% to 40%, while 14% of voters were undecided. The polling says Haley would also beat Biden, but DeSantis would not.

• Yesterday Biden began an end-of-the-year fundraising sprint that includes at least nine fundraisers—some featuring James Taylor, Steven Spielberg and Lenny Kravitz.

  • Biden raised $71+ million for his reelection campaign and the Democratic Party in 2023’s third fundraising quarter — far outpacing Trump and the rest of the GOP candidates.

• November was his best grassroots fundraising month since launching his re-election campaign last April.

• He has his eyes on Trump, telling donors on Tuesday that his re-election campaign was prompted in part by Donald Trump's decision to run for president again, saying he "cannot let him win."

NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN…
The long-shot bids by some Democrats and third-party candidates might not get them into the White House, but very well may just shake-up the election results. Democrats trying to get the nomination include Marianne Williamson and Rep. Dean Phillips.

On the Independent side:

• A super PAC backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has raised at least $28 million, and plans to spend upwards of $15 million to get Kennedy on the ballot in 10 states. He is polling at between 15-20% right now, and IF he can get on the ballot in key states, he could throw a major curve ball for Biden and Trump.

• Jill Stein, an environmental activist who Democrats blamed for helping Trump win in 2016, is running again as the Green Party candidate. The party is already on the ballot in 19 states.

• Cornel West, a progressive activist and scholar, is also running as an independent. Notably, he was initially running for the Green Party nomination, with Stein as a campaign manager, but is now running on his own.

The fear of a third-party candidate is felt by both Republican and Democrats who don’t want votes to be pulled from their nominee.

ROOM FOR ONE MORE?
Liz Cheney says maybe. The former GOP Representative, an outspoken critic of Trump who co-chaired the congressional probe of the Jan. 6, attack on the Capitol, said she is weighing a third-party bid for the White House in 2024.

• She’d consider running as a third-party conservative candidate or on a bipartisan ticket with a Democrat.

📺 WHERE TO FOLLOW ALONG
Tonight’s two-hour debate in Alabama is at 8 p.m. ET on NewsNation. You can watch on their website, or get more information here about where to watch on TV.

And we’ll have tons of updates on our Instagram account. 

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Sen. Tommy Tuberville drops his hold on hundreds of military nominees (USA TODAY)

📌 Supreme Court hears a case that experts say could wreak havoc on the tax code (NPR)

📌 FBI Director Wray calls for renewal of key surveillance tool (NBC NEWS)

📌 House speaker says Jan. 6 footage should be blurred to protect rioters, then backtracks (ABC NEWS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Netanyahu says Israel will retain open-ended control of security in Gaza long after war with Hamas (AP)

📌 Nigeria’s president calls for investigation after 85 civilians killed in drone attack (CNN)

📌 Runaway kangaroo punches police officer in the face while being captured in Canada (NBC NEWS)

📌 Mathematics, reading skills in unprecedented decline in teenagers (REUTERS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Job openings slide to 8.7 million in October, well below estimate, to lowest level since March 2021 (CNBC)

📌 CVS will change the way it prices prescription drugs (CNN)

📌 23andMe confirms hackers accessed data of 6.9 million users (FOX BUSINESS)

📌 Eli Lilly obesity drug now available in US pharmacies (REUTERS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree hits US No 1 – 65 years after release (GUARDIAN)

📌 Former GMA’s Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes' exes Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig are dating (PEOPLE)

📌 Jamie Foxx admits he 'couldn't walk' after mystery illness: 'I saw the tunnel. I didn't see the light' (FOX NEWS)

📌 Margot Robbie tells Cillian Murphy an 'Oppenheimer' producer asked her to move 'Barbie' release (USA TODAY)

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🗓 ON THIS DAY: DECEMBER 6

• 1884: The Washington Monument was completed in Washington, D.C., and at the time was the tallest building in the world at 555 feet, 5-1/8 inches.

• 1921: Irish Free State declared, comprising four-fifths of Ireland, and ending a five-year Irish struggle for independence from Britain. .

• 1961: Syracuse running back Ernie Davis becomes the first Black player to win the Heisman Trophy—college football's top individual award.

• 1998: Hugo Chávez was first elected president of Venezuela. His disastrous rule would last 15 years.

• 2005: T-Pain releases his first solo album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, the first major release with an auto-tune effect on every song.